ILOILO – An expressway connecting all the provinces in Panay Island is one of the priority projects of the Marcos administration, according to Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., citing the information reaching him.
This jives with his own vision of an Iloilo-Capiz-Aklan Expressway (ICAX) or Panay Expressway.
An expressway is a controlled-access highway designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow — ingress and egress — regulated.
“That expressway has been included in the regional plan. It is one of our visions for the province,” said Defensor.
He is hopeful of soon seeing concrete steps being undertaken to realize the expressway.
“We need an expressway that will connect our airports and seaports, the whole of Panay just like the Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX),” said Defensor.
Travel time from Iloilo to other provinces will be short, he stressed.
In 2020, as reported by state-run Philippine News Agency, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said businessmen in Panay Island were pushing for the construction of an expressway.
Then NEDA regional director Ro-Ann Bacal said an elevated expressway would work like the SLEX and NLEX.
“We talked to businessmen. They said they were not so keen on a railway. The railway can’t do door-to-door deliveries; you have to get the goods from the production area and put it (on) a truck and download it to the railway,” she said.
There were proposals to revive the state-owned Panay Railways, Inc. (PRI). The railway’s original route was 117 kilometers long and included 19 permanent and 10 flag stations. It connected the then towns of La Paz and Jaro (now districts of Iloilo City), Pavia, Santa Barbara, New Lucena, Pototan, Dingle, Dueñas, and Passi in Iloilo province; and Dumarao, Dao, Panitan, Cuartero, and Loctugan in Capiz. It reached Roxas City.
In Iloilo City, the trains ended at the passenger terminal along the wharf next to the Customs House and near where the current Iloilo City Hall stands. Trains ran across what is now the Drilon Bridge from La Paz and down the bank of the Iloilo River to Muelle Loney at the Port of Iloilo.
In 1980s, a 12-kilometer spur was constructed from Dueñas to Calinog, Iloilo to serve a sugar refinery in Iloilo. Operations ceased in 1983 due to mounting losses.
According to Bacal then, an expressway could “efficiently deliver goods and reduce the cost of travel.
“We are very keen on the expressway because the gestation period of the railway takes a long time. We are contesting with different areas in the country, you can just imagine how long it can take, the feasibility study, detailed engineering study, and procurement,” she stressed.
NEDA had also reported previously that then Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH Region 6 director Lea Delfinado had asked the infrastructure committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) to endorse the Panay Expressway for the conduct of a feasibility study.
The Panay Expressway is seen to benefit not only the businessmen and investors but also visitors who would like to explore Panay./PN
