ILOILO City – A feasibility study is being conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) central office on the proposed Iloilo-Capiz-Aklan Expressway (ICAEx).
ICAEx 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 has an estimated length of 210 kilometers, traversing 20 municipalities along three provinces (Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan).
Engr. Arecio A. Casing Jr., director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Region 6, said the feasibility study is expected to be completed in early 2024 or in two years.
The regional director said he already informed Capiz’s Gov. Fredenil Castro and Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. about this.
“It started early this year, so more or less by 2024. It is envisioned to be a public-private partnership (PPP) project. The private sector will be invited to construct the expressway,” Casing told Panay News.
The expressways in Luzon may be replicated in Panay and become the backbone of connectivity on the island, added Casing.
“Upon the completion of the feasibility study, it is targeted to begin within the term of the President (Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.),” he added.
Defensor welcomed the plan for better connectivity among provinces in the region.
“Amo na gusto naton, ma-plano ang transport system,” he said.
On Friday morning, July 7, during the courtesy visit of His Excellency Luc Veron, Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines, and Mr. Brian McCrohan of the Embassy of Ireland at the Iloilo Capitol, the governor opened this up for possible investors from member-states of the European Union.
“This expressway, ang direction is PPP. It has to be a partnership with the private sector in terms of capital, basi may interested bala. I know that is a long shot, maayo gid nga ginasugilanonan,” added Defensor.
In August 2022, officials of the DPWH-PPP Service, led by director Alex G. Bote, presented the proposed project to the governor.
Bote said the project is included in the list of priority projects proposed for implementation through PPP in accordance with Republic Act No. 7718 (Build-Operate-and-Transfer [BOT] Law).
ICAEx has the following project objectives:
* reduce travel time between the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan
* eliminate congestion on existing highways by avoiding choke points in poblacion areas
* enhance logistics network to ease the delivery of goods from source to destination
* improve the delivery of emergency response in times of flooding as an effect of inclement weather
* provide tourism development opportunities for various tourist attractions in Panay./PN
