The University of Hawai'i system hopes to sell about $100 million in bonds at the end of March to finance projects across its 10 campuses and refund bonds issued at higher interest rates.

Howard Todo, UH vice president for budget and finance, said Merrill Lynch, the university system's bond underwriter, expects to go to market on March 30 or 31 with the Series A University Revenue Bonds that are exempt from state and federal income taxes.

He said early indications are that the bonds are attracting interest from individual investors, as opposed to the strong interest from institutional investors that was found in the bond market up until Wall Street's troubles last year.

The sale is part of a $1.8 billion infrastructure improvement plan by the Lingle administration and county governments to boost the local economy during the economic downturn. About $85 million of the proceeds will be used for projects on UH campuses.

Another $13.3 million will be used to retire older bonds that financed housing units and that carry higher interest rates. Todo said the refunding should save UH about $1 million in interest.

Fitch Ratings yesterday gave the upcoming bond issue an "AA-" rating, lifting UH's rating from the prior "A+" rating it had carried. It also revised UH's financial outlook to positive from stable, citing UH's dominant market position for public college education, healthy enrollment trends, sound finances and strengthened fundraising efforts.

"It's very good news, given the general state of the economy right now," Todo said.

The bonds will be sold through Merrill Lynch and other brokers. Fitch said repayment of the bonds is secured by revenues from a number of sources, including those from housing, parking and bookstore operations.