Bukidnon Airport is targeted to start turboprop commercial flight operations in 2026. Photo credit: ADB.
The airport, which is slated to open in 2026, is a priority infrastructure project of BIMP-EAGA.
The Philippines is constructing a new airport in Bukidnon province in the heart of mainland Mindanao. It is one of the priority infrastructure projects in the reconfigured and expanded North–South Economic Corridor, which is for development in the BIMP-EAGA subregion.
According to the Mindanao Development Authority, Bukidnon Airport is targeted to be completed by December and to start operations in 2026. It is being built in Barangay Maraymaray in the municipality of Don Carlos. The airport will start with turboprop commercial flight operations. By the third quarter of 2026, it is expected to be able to handle larger A320 jets.
The Bukidnon Airport Development Project is estimated to cost ₱2.816 billion (about $48 million). It is expected to create more economic opportunities for the landlocked province, known as the food basket of Mindanao, by linking it to markets, improving mobility, and making it more accessible to tourists. The project is seen to benefit not just the 1.5 million residents of Bukidnon but also those living in neighboring provinces.
To the north of Bukidnon is the highly urbanized Cagayan de Oro City and to the south is Davao City, the largest city in the country and a major commerce and trade hub in Mindanao. The province is adjacent to the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Cotabato, Davao del Norte, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and Misamis Oriental.
The completion of the new airport will enable shorter travel times by air. Traveling by road between Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro takes more than 2 hours per trip while Bukidnon to Davao City is 4 to 5 hours. “The Bukidnon Airport will open doors for Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato, and the Bukidnon–Davao corridor, improving logistics, boosting tourism, and even strengthening disaster response across the region,” said MinDA.
Bukidnon is part of the Northern Mindanao Development Corridor, which is envisioned to serve as the gateway to domestic markets in Visayas and Luzon. The province has the largest share of prime agricultural lands in the corridor. It is a major source of grains, fruits, vegetables, and livestock, and has potential to export high-value crops. The government has plans of developing agro-industrial parks in the province.
Bukidnon is also being developed as a destination for ecotourism and farm and adventure tourism activities. Top attractions are the Mount Kitanglad Range Natural Park and Mount Kalatungan Range Natural Park. Attractions near the airport in Don Carlos town includes Lake Pinamaloy and Blue Water Cave.
In the BIMP-EAGA subregion, the province is part of the planned North–South Economic Corridor, which covers mainland Mindanao and the whole of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a maritime corridor linking various strategic ports, where trade in agriculture and aquaculture products is fairly advanced. The Mindanao–North Sulawesi route plays an important role in barter trade.
The development of the economic corridor is expected to open market opportunities, particularly for agricultural products, food and fish processing, and tourism. The new airport in Bukidnon can play a key role in the economic corridor by reducing transport costs and facilitating trade and investment.