Completion of the long-anticipated Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home will be delayed for up to a year because of transportation complications and key equipment shortages, according to the Hawaii Department of Defense’s Office of Veterans’ Services.

What You Need To Know

  • Construction on the new facility started in April 2021 and was to have been completed in April 2023. That target date has been pushed back by eight months to one year

  • OVS said it was recently informed of the projected delay by primary construction contractor Nan Inc.

  • According to OVS, the project is 50% complete and remains on budget

  • The facility is expected to help to relieve pressure on veterans health care system in Hawaii, which serves some 110,000 veterans, and alleviate logistical and capacity challenges at Tripler Army Medical Center and the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center

Construction on the new facility started in April 2021 and was to have been completed in April 2023. That target date has been pushed back by eight months to one year.

OVS said it was recently informed of the projected delay by primary construction contractor Nan Inc.

According to OVS, the project is 50% complete and remains on budget.

 “While we are truly disappointed by this potential delay’s impact on much needed long-term care services for our Hawaii Veterans, HIDOD continues to work in close collaboration with Nan Inc., the Department of Accounting and General Services, and the Oahu Regional Healthcare System, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to minimize this extension as effectively as possible,” said Thomas M Driskill Jr., OVS’s health care coordinator and DKA SVH project specialist. “Our focus remains to move as quickly as possible to offer the long-term care services not currently available to our most deserving Hawaii Veterans, their spouses and gold star parents.”

Once it is operational, the facility is expected help to relieve pressure on veterans health care system in Hawaii, which serves some 110,000 veterans, and alleviate logistical and capacity challenges at Tripler Army Medical Center and the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center. It is named after the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, a World War II veteran, outspoken advocate for veterans services, and the first Native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate.