Bacolod-Downtown Local Information

Bacolod is the capital city of the province of Negros Occidental. Visit for the warm atmosphere, climate-wise and people-wise (the city’s catch phrase is “city of smiles”), and also for beaches, great food and history.

Bacolod City is located on the northwestern coast of the Province of Negros Occidental. It is bounded on the northwest by the town of Talisay; on the east by the City of Silay; on the east and southwest by the town of Murcia; on the southwest by the City of Bago; and in the west by the Guimaras Strait. The global location of Bacolod City is 10 degrees, 40 minutes 40 seconds – north and 122 degrees 54 minutes 25 seconds – east with Bacolod Public Plaza as the benchmark.

Bacolod has a total land area of 16,145 hectares, including straits and bodies of water and the 124 hectare reclamation area; and is composed of 61 barangay (villages) and 639 purok (smaller units composing a village). It is accessible by sea through the ports of Banago; the BREDCO Port in the Reclamation Area, and the port of Pulupandan. By air, it is accessible through the Silay Airport.

Along its highways, sugarcane plantations are a typical scene. As of 2003, 7,216 hectares of the city’s 8,560 hectares of agricultural land were still planted to sugarcane. Meanwhile, 915 hectares were devoted to rice, 120 hectares to assorted vegetables, 100 hectares to coconut, 43 hectares to banana and 34 hectares to corn. The people are also engaged in livestock, fishing and pottery.

The Bacolod-Silay City International Airport has one primary runway 45 meters (150 ft) wide and 2,000 meters, just a bit longer than its predecessor, the Bacolod City Domestic Airport. Provisions for an 500-meter (1,600 ft) expansion of the present runway in order to accommodate even larger aircraft like the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A340 are in place. Its 30 minutes away from Bacolod city. This Airport provides business to the Silay people as well as work opportunities.