Kabankalan, PH 🇵🇭 Closed Airport
PH-0588
-
194 ft
PH-NEC
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 10.0072° N, 122.85159° E
Continent: AS
Type: Closed Airport
Kabankalan City Domestic Airport (PH-0588) is currently under construction and not yet operational for commercial passenger flights. Therefore, there are no traveler reviews or experiences available to summarize regarding overall traveler sentiment, satisfaction, facilities, security, or transportation.
The airport project, which began in 2007, continues to undergo development with ongoing efforts to secure funding and complete necessary infrastructure. Recent reports indicate that the airport's runway is being expanded to accommodate larger aircraft like the Airbus A320, requiring the relocation of approximately 100 families.
Key Development Information:
As the airport is still under construction and not yet open to the public, no traveler experiences can be provided at this time. The project aims to enhance regional connectivity and economic development in Kabankalan City.
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This airport was never officially opened, so it was never formally 'closed'. Construction began in 1997 but was halted indefinitely in the early 2000s.
Construction was stopped primarily due to a lack of continued funding from the national government. Contributing factors included shifting regional priorities, particularly after the development and opening of the larger Bacolod-Silay Airport (RPVB) in 2008, which serves the entire province of Negros Occidental. The project was likely deemed economically unviable to complete at the time.
The site consists of a single, paved but incomplete runway (approximately 1,200 meters long) situated in the middle of agricultural land, primarily sugarcane fields. There are no terminal buildings, control towers, taxiways, or other aviation facilities. The abandoned runway is unofficially used by local residents for various purposes, including as a road, a venue for drag racing, a practice area for driving schools, and for drying palay (unhusked rice).
The airport was never operational and therefore has no history of handling flights or passengers. Its significance lies in being a major, long-stalled government infrastructure project for southern Negros. Initiated in the late 1990s, it was intended to boost economic activity, trade, and tourism in the southern part of the province, which is geographically distant from the main provincial airport in the north. The partially constructed runway stands as a physical testament to these long-held regional development aspirations.
There are persistent plans and ongoing lobbying efforts by local and provincial government officials to revive the project and secure funding for its completion. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) have been urged multiple times over the years to reconsider the project. However, as of the early 2020s, there is no concrete timeline or allocated budget from the national government to resume construction. Any future development is contingent on a new feasibility study and the project being prioritized in the national infrastructure program.