The city awarded a $26,950 contract to a Riverside, Calif., company to create a risk management plan for Honolulu's $5.4 billion commuter rail project.

Caltrop Corp. won the contract out of four firms that submitted bids.

The contract was the first of about $1 billion worth of contracts the city plans to award during the coming year related to the rail system.

The city has an ambitious plan to start construction in December. The first of those contracts involves conducting a risk management feasibility study for the 20-mile train linking East Kapolei to Ala Moana.

Caltrop will advise the city as it solicits bidders for bigger contracts later this year, including a $550 million to $600 million deal to design and build the first phase — an elevated six-mile guideway from East Kapolei to Leeward Community College.