SM sets up mall in Puerto Princesa

Property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. has gained a foothold in Palawan with the opening of a new shopping complex in Puerto Princesa, marking the 64th in its chain of shopping malls.

SM City Puerto Princesa—SM Prime’s first mall in the country’s largest province and a key tourist destination—has 54,000 square meters in gross floor area (GFA), bringing the group’s total retail space in the Philippines to 7.9 million square meters.

The new mall, which is designed with lush landscaping in line with a resort-style concept, is set to open to the public on Friday, Sept. 15.

“We take pride in opening the 64th mall of SM Prime in one of the most sought-after island destinations in the world. We expect SM City Puerto Princesa to add new dynamics and opportunities to the thriving province of Palawan highlighted by SM’s pursuit of new and unique malling experience,” SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said in a statement yesterday.

The new mall is set to open with 80 percent of total leasing space already awarded to retailers and other tenants.

SM City Puerto Princesa will have three-level retail and dining floors housing about 180 food and retail shops including The SM Store, SM Supermarket, BDO, Sports Central, Surplus Shop, Cyberzone, Watsons, SM Appliance, Ace Hardware, a traveler’s lounge and other homegrown brands.

For moviegoers, the mall features three 158-seater SM Digital Cinema and two 48-seater Director’s Club Cinema.

“Designed to complement the tropical vibe of the island, SM City Puerto Princesa is set to be a cost-efficient and energy saving building, in line with SM Prime’s commitment on sustainable future and disaster risk reduction,” the company said in a statement.
Earlier this year, SM Prime launched SM CDO Downtown Premier in Cagayan de Oro, S Maison at Conrad Manila in Pasay City and SM Cherry Antipolo in Rizal.