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The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) will sign a full funding grant agreement (FFGA) with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to provide $1.55 billion for the construction of the Honolulu Rail Transit project, according to congressional notification sent to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

By law, the FTA is required to notify Congress 30 days before it signs a FFGA. Immediately after signing the agreement, HART will receive $200 million in New Starts funding from fiscal-year 2012.

"This is an important step forward providing federal funding for the Honolulu Rail Transit project," said Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) — who chairs the Senate committee — in a prepared statement. "I will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion with my colleagues in the Congress to ensure we appropriate what is needed to complete the project in an efficient and timely manner."

Estimated to cost $5.3 billion, the project involves constructing a passenger-rail line from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.