ILOILO City – The revival of Panay Island’s railway system is among the high-impact infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.
The President, who chairs the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, greenlit 194 projects worth P9 trillion.
Of these projects, 71 were initiated by the previous Duterte administration, said NEDA secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
“The new projects include the Panay Railway Project; Mindanao Railway Project III; North Long Haul Railway; San Mateo Railway; UP-PGH Diliman Project; Ninoy Aquino International Airport Rehabilitation Project; Ilocos Sur Transbasin Project; and the Metro Cebu Expressway,” Balisacan said.
These projects showcase the administration’s “Build Better More” infrastructure program, which is among the priorities under Marcos’ 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda.
Chief Operations Officer Cesar Capellan of the state-owned Panay Railways, Inc. (PRI) welcomed NEDA’s announcement.
“We are very happy kay sure na gid madayon ang revival sang railway system,” Capellan told Panay News yesterday.
He said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has secured over $6 million in loans to fund feasibility studies for three railway projects outside the National Capital Region: the Panay Railway, the Bataan Railway and the North Long Haul Interregional Railway.
Panay railway system status
DOTr has opened the bidding for the feasibility study of the Panay railway system, said Capellan.
Among the interested bidders are Urban Integrated Consultants, Inc.; Angel Lazaro & Associates; China Railway Design Systra Corps; and EDCO/Space Design.
Once a winning bidder is announced, a Swiss challenge follows.
A Swiss challenge is a form of public procurement that requires a public authority that has received an unsolicited bid for a public project or for services to be provided to the government to publish the bid and invite third parties to match or better it.
There would be a Memorandum of Agreement and a thorough site inspection before the feasibility study could be forwarded to NEDA Region 6.
Capellan added that to date, 11 project investors – from Turkey, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, England, and China – have expressed interest.
The PRI officer earlier said the project would need an estimated US$1.5 billion just for Phase 1, which covers the 117 kilometers of railway tracks from Iloilo City to Roxas City in Capiz province.
“Phase 1 includes civil works, locomotives, human resources, and relocations, among others,” said Capellan.
Panay railways’ 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 City in Iloilo; and Dumarao, Dao, Panitan, Cuartero, and Loctugan in Capiz. It reached Roxas City.
Capellan said the revived railway system will have an expanded coverage area.
Phase 2 will see the construction of new railway routes from Roxas City to Kalibo, Aklan, going to Caticlan in Malay, Aklan.
Phase 3 will cover the new railway route from Caticlan to San Jose, Antique; and Phase 4 will cover the new route from San Jose, Antique to Iloilo City via Iloilo province’s San Joaquin and Miag-ao towns.
The Panay railways started operating in 1907.
In Iloilo City, its 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 banks of the Iloilo River to Muelle Loney at the Port of Iloilo.
However, operations ceased in 1983 due to mounting losses. (With reports from Philippine News Agency)/PN
