ILOILO – The proposed expressway connecting this province to Aklan and Capiz is seen to complement the bridges linking the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros.
“Importante ni sia sa aton. This is a game changer; this will unite the economy of Region 6,” said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.
He was thankful that the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project was again cited during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
While the Iloilo-Capiz-Aklan Expressway (ICAEx) wasn’t mentioned, Defensor said, “It cannot be Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges kon wala ka expressway. Mapuslan ni sia sang Capiz kag Aklan kon may main artery ikaw nga naga-angut sa Panay.”
Marcos said: “Twelve bridges totaling 90 kilometers will be constructed, connecting islands and areas separated by waters. The program notably includes the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge and the Panay-Guimaras Negros Island Bridges, each spanning 32 kilometers, and the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge.”
According to Defensor, the Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges are “daku ni nga bagay sa connectivity sang region kapin pa sa probinsya…That’s why nalipay kita kay bisan without mentioning the ICAEx, upod ni sila.”
The governor recalled that ICAEx was also not mentioned during the first SONA. But about a month after it, in August 2022, officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Public Private Partnership (PPP) Service led by director Alex G. Bote gave a briefing at the Iloilo provincial capitol on the proposed ICAEx.
Defensor said ICAEx is needed this time, especially since travel from Iloilo to Aklan would now take five hours. With an expressway, this would be reduced to around two hours.
But, all in all, the governor said, “We are very happy with what we’ve heard in the SONA, among others, of course.”
The ICAEx, estimated at 210 kilometers and traversing 20 municipalities in the three provinces, is proposed to be a full-access controlled toll expressway with four lanes composed of elevated roadways, viaducts, a tunnel, and a long-span bridge.
It is seen to achieve the following:
* reduce the travel time between the three provinces
* eliminate congestion on the highways by avoiding chokepoints
* ease the delivery of goods due to an enhanced logistics network
* improve emergency response
* provide development opportunities for other tourism destinations on Panay Island
ICAEx will connect with the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges, which has a funding commitment from the Korean Eximbank and whose detailed engineering is being prepared.
It will start in Barangay M.V. Hechanova in Leganes, Iloilo, near the approach of the proposed bridge to Guimaras, and will end in Malay, Aklan, which is the gateway to Boracay Island.
The same goes for the revival of the Panay Railway System, which was not mentioned in the second SONA.
“I’m not worried about the things that were not mentioned because the ICAEX was not mentioned in any SONA and yet we were informed that top 10 na sia,” the governor added.
Aside from these, Defensor was thrilled that the Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) figured in this year’s SONA.
“Nalipay kita kay ti halin na sa President, that is as important as the highway para sa aton and the NGCP responded,” said Defensor.
During his second SONA, the President said his vision of a complete electrification of the Philippines is now “within reach,” but there are delays on the part of the NGCP.
“The 68 grid connections are much delayed, according to the ERC’s (Energy Regulatory Commission’s) count,” said Marcos, adding that they are conducting a performance review of private concessionaire NGCP.
“We look to NGCP to complete all of the deliverables, starting with the vital Mindanao-Visayas and Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections,” the President said.
The NGCP was tasked with finishing the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project and fast-tracking the signing of an ancillary service procurement agreement to manage power fluctuations.
The project involves linking Negros and Cebu by laying an overhead line from the cities of Bacolod to San Carlos and Toledo through a submarine cable.
Earlier this year, the Panay, Guimaras and Negros experienced 12-hour daily power outages, prompting Marcos to task the NGCP to immediately address the power crisis in parts of the Visayas.
The President then instructed the NGCP to review the reliability of each Visayas sub-grid and “synchronize the protection relays of transmission, generation and distribution to prevent blackouts.”/PN
