LOILO CITY — The six-year journey from airport arrival to city center may soon be cut in half. On April 15, 2026, Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon returned to the Aganan Flyover construction site in Pavia, Iloilo, for the second time in three months, bearing a mandate that could reshape the visitor experience across the province: finish the long-stalled ₱802-million structure, and finish it now. The northbound lane, leading toward Iloilo International Airport, is now targeted to open in December 2026, while the southbound portion toward Iloilo City is scheduled for completion by February 2027. For the tourism sector, those dates are not merely infrastructure milestones. They are the moment Iloilo's busiest gateway corridor finally begins to function as intended.
The Secretary's impatience was on full display during the inspection. "I need to come here. If I don't, there is no sense of urgency," Dizon said, addressing contractors and DPWH officials directly at the site. "The people of Iloilo have waited for too long for the projects to be completed. We really have to act with a sense of urgency. We have to do things faster without compromising safety." The visit came as jet grouting on the southbound lane entered its final stage—expected to conclude by the end of May, followed by concrete pouring—while a third-party foreign consultant was brought in to review the newly proposed rectification design and ensure structural safety.
A Half-Built Road to the Airport
For the traveler landing at Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan, the current journey into the city traverses Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, a corridor that should have been streamlined by two flyovers: Ungka and Aganan. Ungka Flyover, just a kilometer away from Aganan, was closed due to stability issues. Aganan, originally slated for completion in June 2023, was halted in October 2022 over similar concerns. The result has been a bottleneck that turns what should be a 20-minute airport transfer into a grinding, unpredictable crawl—an experience that leaves a sour first impression on visitors arriving for the Dinagyang Festival, the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy food trails, or MICE events at the Iloilo Convention Center.
Construction of the Aganan Flyover began in November 2019 but was suspended when foundation problems were discovered. A geotechnical study by Pasig City-based Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants recommended jet grouting—a process that injects high-pressure grout into the soil to improve its load-bearing capacity. An additional ₱229 million has been allocated for rectification works in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, supplementing the original ₱802-million cost.
Dizon has framed the timeline in terms that resonate beyond the engineering community. As early as January 2026, he described the flyover as a "Christmas gift" for the Ilonggos—a phrase that places the project within the administration's broader push to complete all long-overdue infrastructure projects nationwide by the end of the year. "The President has instructed me to finish this year. 'Yun ang gagawin natin, and we will make sure that happens," Dizon said.
Beyond Aganan: A Province-Wide Infrastructure Push
Dizon's April 15 visit was not limited to a single flyover. The Secretary also inspected the Buhang Flyover in Jaro, Iloilo City, where the contractor committed to completing rehabilitation works by May 2026. He ordered the Iloilo City District Engineer's Office to finish the East Timawa Road in Molo—delayed for nearly two years—within three months. The cumulative effect of these inspections is a provincial road network that, by early 2027, should offer visitors a fundamentally different experience: an airport-to-city transfer free of traffic lights at the major intersections, a smoother route from the city center to the northern beaches of Concepcion and Carles, and reduced congestion along the Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue corridor that feeds directly into the Iloilo Business Park and its cluster of hotels.
The tourism implications are practical. Iloilo's hotel inventory has expanded with the opening of Megaworld's 405-room Belmont Hotel, adding to established properties like Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and Courtyard by Marriott. The Iloilo Convention Center hosted over 150 MICE events in 2025 and entered 2026 fully booked with a year-long waitlist. The newly launched Living Heritage Museum Tour, the MAFBEX Iloilo food expo in July, and the province's growing network of certified ecotourism sites—from the Leganes Integrated Katunggan Ecopark to Kuliatan Marine Sanctuary—all depend on a road network that can deliver visitors efficiently from the airport to the destination and back. Dizon's inspections, and the timelines they produced, acknowledge that Iloilo's tourism economy cannot reach its potential if its primary road artery remains clogged.
