ICAEX, Boracay Bridge stay in 2027 national budget plan

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo-Capiz-Aklan Expressway (ICAEX) and the controversial Boracay Bridge are among the priority public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects identified by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in its proposed 2027 national budget.

While the two Western Visayas projects do not carry separate or specific budget line items, the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) includes a PHP 1 billion PPP strategic support fund.

Under the proposed budget, the fund may be used for right-of-way acquisition, fees and charges imposed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, land title transfers and related expenses, and feasibility and business case studies.

The fund may also be used to reimburse the Project Development and Monitoring Facility fund.

The budget documents do not specify how much of the PHP 1 billion allocation will go to ICAEX or the Boracay Bridge.

The DPWH has identified both projects among its priority PPP infrastructure undertakings in Western Visayas.

The government’s proposed PHP 7.2 trillion NEP for fiscal year 2027 was formally submitted to Congress by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Aug. 11, after it was presented to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

ICAEX is a proposed 210-kilometer, four-lane controlled-access toll expressway that will traverse the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan.

The project will cross two cities and 20 municipalities in the three provinces.

It is designed to cut travel time, ease congestion on existing national roads, improve logistics, and boost tourism across Panay.

DPWH and PPP Center materials have projected that the expressway would shorten the trip from Iloilo City to Boracay to about 2.5 hours, down from the present six to seven hours.

The main entry point in Iloilo is planned in Barangay M.V. Hechanova in Leganes, near the proposed approach to the Panay-Guimaras Bridge, a component of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge Project.

The Boracay Bridge Project, for its part, involves the construction of an approximately 2.54-kilometer limited-access bridge system linking Boracay Island to Caticlan in Malay, Aklan.

The project will include access roads and facility hubs on both Boracay Island and Caticlan, with provisions for public transport, cargo and delivery vehicles, parking, commercial spaces, and utility lines.

It is intended to provide an all-weather alternative to existing ferry access while helping manage the island’s environmental carrying capacity and easing congestion and overcrowding.

San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMHC), the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corp., submitted the bridge as an unsolicited proposal, which the DPWH approved in January 2025 before opening the project to comparative proposals under the PPP Code, or Republic Act No. 11966.

No rival bid was received by the Oct. 18, 2025, deadline, and the DPWH issued a notice of award to SMHC on March 30, 2026, for a project carrying an approved cost of PHP 7.78 billion, inclusive of financing costs.

The project has drawn opposition from the Aklan provincial government, the Malay local government, Ati Indigenous communities, and boatmen’s cooperatives.

Critics have raised concerns over its possible effects on coral reefs, seagrass beds, marine biodiversity, and tidal flows.

They have also cited the potential impact on the livelihood of boat operators and the risk of further overtourism on Boracay.

The Sangguniang Bayan of Malay has removed the bridge from the municipality’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Annual Investment Plan, while the Aklan provincial board has passed resolutions denouncing the award.

In May, Aklan Gov. Jose Enrique Miraflores said San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramon Ang had agreed to abandon the plan, but the conglomerate later said it was not dropping the project.

The inclusion of the projects in the proposed 2027 budget follows earlier government support for major infrastructure undertakings in Western Visayas.

The two projects were also identified as priority PPP projects in the DPWH’s 2026 budget, although they likewise carried no specific line items.

The DPWH’s project information memorandum earlier listed ICAEX as a proposed PPP project, while the Boracay Bridge was identified for procurement through comparative challenge.

In the proposed 2027 budget of the Department of Transportation, the agency is seeking a PHP 200 million allocation for the Kalibo International Airport under locally funded aviation infrastructure projects for construction, rehabilitation, and improvement.

The proposed 2027 national budget is equivalent to 21.7% of gross domestic product, according to the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).