Capt. Stephen Padhi
Pearl Harbor’s new Dry Dock 5, the U.S. Navy’s highest-value single project in history, continues to progress with major work activities of massive scale fully underway.
“The construction completion date for the MILCON P-209 Dry Dock 3 Replacement Project, also known as Dry Dock 5, is September 2027,” says Navy Capt. Stephen Padhi, who oversees the project as commanding officer, Officer in Charge of Construction, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.
“The project team has successfully come through some major milestones on this monumental project, including the final phase of dredging, driving all the largest steel pipe piles for the shoring wall system and major concrete pre-casting for seven of nine dry dock floor units,” Padhi says.
NPCL Project Manager Danyelle Kahanaoi says this USACE Schofield Barracks project is a complete renovation of an existing five-story building located in the heart of an active military base.
Scope of work includes the conversion of single-bedroom units into upgraded single- and two-bedroom units including demolition, replacement of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, walls, ceilings, flooring, finishes, windows, fixtures and the addition of the building fire sprinkler system.
Kahanaoi says military construction such as this Schofield project consistently drives market growth in Hawai‘i, “regardless of surges in the commercial market such as high-rise residential and hotel development.
“DOD projects are expected to contribute a total of $2.1 billion in military construction to Hawai‘i’s economy for Fiscal Year 2025 to 2026,” she says. “With ongoing projects at Wheeler [Airfield] and Schofield Barracks, Nordic PCL Construction is actively pursuing other opportunities including a USACE $495 million MATOC [multiple award task order contract] and NAVFAC’s $8 billion MACC.”
The first unit will soon be installed in waters at least 50 feet deep.
“The amount of planning, preparation and focus everyone is putting forth to transport and install the first precast floor unit is a great representation of the level of technical complexity on this project, as well as the skill and talent to match it,” Padhi says.
Valued at $3.4 billion, the new dry dock will service the Navy’s newer, larger nuclear submarines and is the linchpin of the Navy’s upcoming recapitalization of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.
Ed Case
A Strong Foundation
The project is of great importance to Hawai‘i’s building industry and the nation.
“The accelerating geopolitical challenges we face, combined with the very strong foundation we have laid in Hawai‘i, suggest that federal construction projects, especially in the national defense and related areas, will continue strong,” says Hawai‘i U.S. Congressman Ed Case. “This is partly about already appropriated projects such as the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard generational upgrade, the largest military construction project in our country today and for the next years. But there are several other such projects in various stages.”
Large upcoming Hawai‘i projects were recently announced by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii Commanding Officer Capt. James L. Sullivan in Building Industry Hawai‘i’s 2025 Construction Preview.
“In the [Navy] construction division,” Sullivan wrote, “three significant MACCs [multiple award construction contracts] are planned for award:
• $8 billion Unrestricted MACC.
• $1 billion Small Business MACC.
• $1 billion Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program MACC.”
Partnering with the Military
“The military’s focus on the Indo-Pacific has resulted in a strong partnership with Hawai‘i’s construction industry as evidenced by the new $3.4 billion submarine-repair dry dock at Pearl Harbor and other critical infrastructure,” says Nathaniel Kinney, Pacific Resource Partnership executive director.
“These projects provide the opportunity to train new apprentices while also introducing innovative building techniques and technology,” he says.
Russell Inouye, General Contractors Association of Hawaii 2025 president, says his previous work on a military project required “precision and strict adherence to safety and security protocols, honing our attention to detail and compliance with regulations.”
Both Kinney and Inouye agree that construction partnerships with the military offer huge benefits to Hawai‘i’s economy and building industry.
This includes local material suppliers. “The U.S. military elevates the Hawaiian concrete industry by requiring high-performance concrete and construction methods for their projects utilizing the local resources available,” says Kirk S. Hashimoto, Cement and Concrete Products Industry of Hawaii executive director.
With work in Hawai‘i’s defense sector projected to reach $2.1 billion this year and next, many of the state’s leading general contractors (GCs) are meeting the challenges of top 2025-2026 military projects.
Dry Dock 5/P-209 Dry Dock 3 Replacement Project
GC: DHOJV
Project Value: $3.4 billion
Roy Morioka, Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company Inc. project director and DHOJV (Dragados/Hawaiian Dredging/Orion Joint Venture) project manager, says the dry dock’s nine precast floor units (PFUs) are scheduled to be installed through the summer and fall. Installation is expected to be complete in Fall 2025.
“Once the PFUs are set in place underwater, reinforced tremie concrete will be placed to lock in all the PFUs in its final position, concurrently with the installation of a temporary ballast and [followed] by the North cofferdam shoring wall,” Morioka explains. “Then the dewatering of the dry dock will happen to allow a topping slab [to] then be installed, and construction of the permanent concrete dry dock walls will follow in dry conditions.”
To meet the project’s enormous labor and technical demands, “we have increased our workforce with experienced staff and craftworkers as well as employ specialized subcontractors locally and from across the globe,” Morioka continues. The project “is a great example of knowledge-sharing and experience-building for hundreds of engineers and craft workers that will benefit the local industry for years to come.”
P-911 Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ)
Project Value: $121.8 million
GC: Nan Inc.
Ryan Nakaima
Ryan Nakaima, Nan Inc. senior vice president, says Nan Inc.’s recently completed P-911 BEQ project at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, like all its military projects, “represent a significant portion of our portfolio.”
This is because military construction offers Nan Inc. some of its most valuable opportunities, he says.
“It encompasses a wide range of all project types, from civil infrastructure to administration buildings, industrial warehouses to medical facilities, and waterfront structures to aviation hangars, just to name a few,” Nakaima continues. “Furthermore, in addition to prioritizing security and material performance, the U.S. military also adopts the most current editions of the [construction] codes and standards as they are released, which necessitates the use of the latest building technologies, systems and methods, followed by the respective requisite training.”
Secure Integration Support Laboratory
GC: Hensel Phelps
Project Value: $93.7 million
Jonathan Tseu, Hensel Phelps vice president, says “This new [Maui] 55,634-square-foot facility for the Air Force Research Laboratory will include a high-performance computing data center, various laboratories, a remote telescope operations center, administrative spaces, a conference center, warehouse functions, a security entry control point and a controlled area.
“Military construction projects have been a cornerstone of our work in Hawai‘i and across the Pacific,” Tseu states. “We have been able to maintain steady growth in Hawai‘i primarily due to the opportunities on military projects. That growth has allowed us to increase the number of employees in the workforce, has provided significant workforce training opportunities, has increased our involvement and investment in the community and has left so many with a sense of pride in what they have accomplished.
“The U.S. military has been instrumental to so many people’s lives, providing opportunities and great jobs to thousands of families across the state,” he continues. “Hawai‘i is a small and unique place, different than anywhere else in the world. The opportunities that the military has brought here help to strengthen and harden the security and infrastructure in ways that will support future generations.”
Wheeler Army Repair Building 118
GC: Nordic PCL Construction Inc.
Project Value: $27.2 million
Nordic PCL Project Manager Ken Walker says the repair of Building 118 at Wheeler Army Airfield is a three-story, 43,000-square-foot, army barracks renovation for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Scope of work includes the complete demolition of the interior finishes, structural walls and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems with civil and landscaping at the exterior. “We are converting two units into a single, two-bedroom unit and shared accommodation spaces such as the living room, kitchen and bathroom,” he says.
NPCL’s project teams at Wheeler Army Airfield and Schofield Barracks can integrate new cyber security technologies that are unique to military jobs.
Walker reports NPCL is complying with “the latest Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, which is set to be implemented in October 2025. The certification process will require all contractors and subcontractors doing business with the government to be vigilant when handling government-provided design information, such as design plans, drawings and email correspondences.”
Schofield Repair Building 2077
GC: Nordic PCL Construction Inc.
Project Value: $25.7 million
NPCL Project Manager Danyelle Kahanaoi says this USACE Schofield Barracks project is a complete renovation of an existing five-story building located in the heart of an active military base.
Scope of work includes the conversion of single-bedroom units into upgraded single- and two-bedroom units including demolition, replacement of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, walls, ceilings, flooring, finishes, windows, fixtures and the addition of the building fire sprinkler system.
Kahanaoi says military construction such as this Schofield project consistently drives market growth in Hawai‘i, “regardless of surges in the commercial market such as high-rise residential and hotel development.
“DOD projects are expected to contribute a total of $2.1 billion in military construction to Hawai‘i’s economy for Fiscal Year 2025 to 2026,” she says. “With ongoing projects at Wheeler [Airfield] and Schofield Barracks, Nordic PCL Construction is actively pursuing other opportunities including a USACE $495 million MATOC [multiple award task order contract] and NAVFAC’s $8 billion MACC.”
2025 Capital Improvements for
‘Ohana Military Communities
Project Value: $36 million in planned projects contributing to a larger $50-millioninvestment in 2025
NPCL Project Manager Danyelle Kahanaoi says this USACE Schofield Barracks project is a complete renovation of an existing five-story building located in the heart of an active military base.
Scope of work includes the conversion of single-bedroom units into upgraded single- and two-bedroom units including demolition, replacement of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, walls, ceilings, flooring, finishes, windows, fixtures and the addition of the building fire sprinkler system.
Kahanaoi says military construction such as this Schofield project consistently drives market growth in Hawai‘i, “regardless of surges in the commercial market such as high-rise residential and hotel development.
