Plus also Hawaii is a deeply nepotistic state. You don't get a contract to build this kind of thing without knowing somebody who knows somebody. So bidding for this kind of work is much less about qualifications than it is about who you know. Way, way less than anywhere on the mainland. Way less. Whatever you're thinking along the lines of "Oh, no, this is just what it's like in government work," it's not even close to the situation in Hawaii.