Bacolod-Silay Airport

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Template:Future airport Template:Infobox Airport Bacolod-Silay City International Airport (Filipino: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Bacolod-Lungsod ng Silay) Template:Airport codes is an international airport designed to serve the general area of Bacolod City, the capital city of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. The airport is a replacement for the existing Bacolod City Domestic Airport located in Bacolod City proper. Upon completion of this airport, Bacolod-Silay City International Airport will inherit its IATA and ICAO airport codes from the former.

The airport is located fifteen kilometers northeast of Bacolod City on a 181-hectare site in Barangay Bagtic, Silay City.[1] The airport would be the the third international airport in the Visayas and the second international airport in the Western Visayas region, after Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Iloilo International Airport, and the first international airport built on the island of Negros.

History[edit | edit source]

Planning for a new airport in Bacolod City commenced in 1997, when the Japan International Cooperation Agency initiated a study indicating the need for expansion at four Philippine airports: namely Bacolod City Domestic Airport, Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo City, Legazpi Airport in Legazpi City and Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City.[2] Of the four airports, one has been completed (Iloilo), one is still under construction (Bacolod) and one is in planning (Legazpi). No plans have yet been drawn up for Tacloban.

In February 1999, another JICA study was commissioned, this time on the detailed plan of the new airport.[2] The study was completed by March 2000 and was funded by a 430-million yen grant. Immediately after the completion of the study, JICA hired Pacific Consultants International as advisers to the project.[2]

The project was bidded on August 25, 2003, with the winning bid going to the Takenaka-Itochu Joint Venture (TIJV).[2] Physical construction on the new 4.3 billion-peso airport,[1] funded in part by an 8.2-billion yen loan, commenced in August 2004. A 900-day deadline was imposed for the airport to be completed,[2] which broadly corresponds to January 2007.

The airport is complete as of July 16, 2007,[3] although there is considerable debate over whether or not the airport should be opened due to the length of its runway.[3] A 500-meter extension of the runway is being planned in order for the airport to accomodate larger aircraft.[3] Depending on the scenario, the airport has a forseen opening date of November 2007 or sometime in 2010, after the completion of a diversion road leading to the airport.[3]

References[edit | edit source]