Anakan (Side 2) Airfield

Economic. The airfield was a private corporate airstrip built and operated by the Anakan Lumber Company (ALCO), a major logging firm. The closure was a direct result of the company ceasing its operations in the area. This was due to a combination of factors, including the expiration of its 25-year timber license agreement with the Philippine government and changing national policies on logging and forest conservation. With no parent company to fund and utilize it, the airfield became defunct.

The airfield is permanently closed and in a state of disrepair. Satellite imagery confirms that the unpaved, grass runway is heavily overgrown and no longer suitable for any aviation activity. The site has been significantly encroached upon over the decades. Residential houses, small-scale agricultural plots, and roads have been built directly on parts of the former runway and apron areas, making its original layout barely distinguishable from the surrounding community. It is completely integrated into the local landscape as residential and agricultural land.

The Anakan (Side 2) Airfield was a private, non-commercial airstrip with significant local importance. Its primary role was to support the extensive operations of the Anakan Lumber Company, one of the largest and most prominent logging companies in the Philippines during the mid-20th century. The airfield handled light aircraft, such as Cessnas and other STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) planes. Operations included transporting company executives, engineers, and other personnel to and from major cities like Cagayan de Oro, as well as flying in urgent spare parts for machinery and providing for medical evacuations from the remote logging camps. The designation 'Side 2' likely referred to a specific operational camp or division within the vast ALCO concession that the airfield served. It was a critical piece of infrastructure that enabled the company to efficiently manage its large-scale operations in a region where ground transportation was challenging.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Anakan Airfield. The significant and permanent encroachment by residential structures makes rehabilitation financially and logistically unfeasible. Any future plans for an airport in Gingoog would almost certainly require the acquisition of a new, clear site rather than attempting to reclaim this defunct airstrip. The proximity of the much larger Laguindingan Airport (CGY), which serves the regional hub of Cagayan de Oro, also reduces the strategic need for a small local airstrip of this type.