Northern Mindanao, aka Region X, is a cluster of 5 provinces including the island province of Camiguin and two highly-urbanized areas Cagayan de Oro City (CDO) and Iligan City. The economy of Northern Mindanao is primarily agricultural but also industrial mainly in CDO and Iligan. It is the largest economy in Mindanao. As of 2009, it had the second highest per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of P91,453 just behind the National Capital Region (NCR) (P246,753). It had the fourth fastest growth of 7.6%, just behind the Bicol (12.7%), Davao (9.2%), and Western Visayas (8.4%) regions.
Focusing on the two urbanized and industrialized areas, CDO and Iligan, the two host several industrial plants along with the supporting economy. The power generation plants in Iligan actually provide 65% (as of 2010) of the power for ALL of Mindanao so electricity for plants is not a problem. Aside from both being port cities, there is also a container terminal, Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT), near CDO which addresses bulk shipping of raw materials and finished goods. Telecommunications is also now well-developed and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies are now operating out of CDO but also some in Iligan. Tourism is also being developed especially in Camiguin.
Providing manpower to the local economies of both cities is the urban population. There is also two major universities Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) and Xavier University (part of the Ateneo group) . There is also the bigger MSU Main an hour away from Iligan. Together, these universities produce thousands of graduates every year, making available a well-educated and well-trained manpower pool.
One latest development is that Laguindingan International Airport is due for completion next year. The new airport, strategically situated between CDO and Iligan, is just about an hour away from either. The new airport is also a driver for plans of a wider highway between the two cities and even a high-speed railway system. This increases the potential for an influx of more tourists, investments, and business opportunities.