FINAL DEADLINE?: DPWH vows Aganan flyover completion by 2026

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

After multiple missed deadlines and mounting public frustration, the Department of Public Works and Highways has pledged to complete the PHP 802 million Aganan Flyover by 2026, citing corrective works to address foundational flaws that left the project unfinished and a daily traffic burden for motorists.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the Aganan Flyover in Pavia, Iloilo, is among the priority projects the agency aims to finish under its program for incomplete roads and bridges.

“The Aganan Flyover sa Iloilo, yan tatapusin na rin ’yan natin this year. ’Yan yung lumulubog na flyover na nakita mismo ng pangulo natin na galit na galit mismo si (President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.). Inayos na ’yan yung lumulubog at ngayon tatapusin na natin this year,” Dizon said during a press conference.

(The Aganan Flyover in Iloilo will also be finished this year. That is the sinking flyover that our President himself saw and was very angry about. The sinking has been fixed, and now we will complete it this year.)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspected the project on Aug. 13, 2025, after reports showed the flyover, which began construction in 2019, suffered from design and foundation-depth deficiencies that required corrective works, including jet grouting.

Earlier, DPWH-6 said the project would need an additional PHP 285 million for jet grouting on 23 piers and widening works, pushing the total project cost to more than PHP 1.1 billion.

DPWH-6 Officer in Charge Regional Director Jose Al Fruto said the release of funds depends on the approval of the 2026 General Appropriations Act, with construction possibly resuming between February and March 2026.

The approved DPWH budget for 2026 does not have a specific line item for the completion of the Aganan Flyover, although a total of PHP 1,000,192,000 has been allocated for the construction of flyovers, interchanges, underpasses, and long-span bridges.

DPWH-6 said the additional funding is necessary because the original project cost was based on a design that failed to consider proper pier depths.

The agency said the original design, prepared by United Technology Consolidated Partnership and commissioned by the DPWH Bureau of Design, specified shallow piers, requiring additional funding to extend them into deeper soil layers to ensure structural stability.

Existing bored piles measure only 20 to 30 meters deep, below the recommended 44 to 50 meters confirmed by soil tests conducted by DPWH-6 and third-party consultant Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants.

The contractor for the Aganan Flyover is Iloilo-based IBC International Builders Corporation, which also constructed the nearby Ungka Flyover that was temporarily closed due to structural issues.

Construction of the Aganan Flyover started in November 2019, with an original target completion date of June 2023.

The project was suspended in October 2022 after reaching 81.62% completion.

The suspension followed structural problems at the Ungka Flyover, which experienced vertical displacement due to insufficient bored pile length.

Both flyovers are located along the same corridor and were designed by the same consultant.

Dizon also said the completion of the Oyungan Bridge in Miagao, Iloilo, is another priority project this year.

“Itong Oyungan Bridge sa Iloilo. Kita niyo naman, kawawa ang mga kababayan nating dumadaan diyan, kailangan ayusin na rin at i-maintain ng maayos ’yan,” he said.

(This is the Oyungan Bridge in Iloilo. As you can see, our fellow citizens who pass through there are suffering, and it needs to be properly repaired and maintained.)

The bridge was first damaged by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng in October 2022, which caused soil erosion around its foundation.

A temporary prefabricated steel bailey bridge was installed to restore access for light vehicles, but the area remains prone to flooding, particularly during typhoons such as Opong in 2025.

DPWH records show that replacement work on the permanent bridge began after the agency issued a Notice to Proceed to A.D. Pendon Construction & Supply Inc. in February 2024 for PHP 93.5 million.

This was followed by a PHP 96 million contract awarded to Monolithic Construction & Concrete Products Inc. in March 2025.