Broad changes in construction, one of Hawaii’s biggest economic drivers, will be easier for the public to see under a new initiative by a local industry organization.
Pacific Resource Partnership is tallying and publishing the value of Hawaii construction projects quarterly, and breaking it down between the private and public sector, by island and by type of work.
An inaugural report is to be posted at prp-hawaii.com today showing breakdowns of local construction spending for the first nine months of this year along with total spending for each of the preceding nine years.
PRP said data for this year through Sept. 30 show that the industry remains strong with spending at $4.3 billion, though the sum trails full-year spending that was over $8 billion in each of the last three years, including $9.5 billion in 2023 and $8.4 billion in 2024.
“The resilience of the industry underscores increasing investor confidence, even amid global uncertainties,” the organization said.
According to PRP’s report, a drastic shift has occurred with diminished public-sector projects that left private-sector projects representing 74% of all work statewide.
Private-sector construction spending was $3.2 billion this year through September after reaching $3.9 billion for all of 2024. That compared with public-sector construction spending of $1.1 billion this year through September after reaching $4.5 billion for all of 2024.
The biggest dropoff in public sector work was from county projects, which sank to $442 million this year through September after reaching $2.6 billion last year, according to PRP.
For state projects, spending fell to $488 million from $1.5 billion in the same two periods, while spending for federal projects fell to $207 million from $421 million, PRP reported.
Housing is the biggest type of construction contributing to industry spending this year through September, led by $1.3 billion for multi-family housing that can include townhomes and high-rise apartment or condominium buildings. The total for single-family housing was $1 billion. PRP also reported $70 million in spending on tract housing that it defines as mass-produced homes on a large subdivision of land.
Other totals for the first nine months of this year by construction type were:
• $384 million for commercial projects that include restaurants, offices and other businesses;
• $325 million for institutional projects that include private hospitals and schools;
• $58 million for renewable energy.
PRP’s report breaks down spending by island for all projects and types of projects. The by-island breakdowns showed, among other things, that no tract housing project spending occurred on Hawaii island, and that all renewable energy projects were on Oahu.
The report also noted that 63% of tract housing activity was on Oahu and 34% was on Maui, which was roughly inverse of a year earlier, suggesting that developers are more aggressively pursuing such projects on Oahu possibly to address high housing costs.
Spending figures in the report are from construction permit data, according to PRP, which is a partnership between the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters and numerous private contractors.
Data on Hawaii’s construction industry can also be found in quarterly economic forecasts published by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization and the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Source: The Garden Island