P4-B Cebu mall rises

CEBU CITY, Philippines—In about two years, the biggest shopping mall in Cebu costing over P4 billion will rise at the city-owned reclaimed property, South Road Properties.

Building the mall is retail giant SM Prime Holdings.

SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said the P4.5-billion shopping mall would be the fourth biggest among its malls in the Philippines, next to SM North Edsa, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City and SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

The shopping mall is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2013, Sy said.

The new four-level mall will feature a five-theater Cineplex, an iMAX theatre, 18-lane bowling center, ice skating rink near the food court and a roof garden.

The shopping mall is part of the 30-hectare mixed use development project of SM Prime called SM Seaside City, which broke ground last week.

Sy said the group had started the construction of the P800-million road network at the property and would soon build a P100-million church at the site.

While the company has plans to build other structures, including a residential condominium and a hotel, Sy said the priority is the mall.

He said earlier that the entire SRP project would cost about P20 billion.

He added that the group might start discussions with the Carlson group, which manages Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City, for another hotel partnership.

Meanwhile, Sy said that the completion of the SM mall in Consolacion town, 12 kilometers north of Cebu City, would be delayed because the group had decided to increase the mall’s floor space from 40,000 sq. meters to 70,000 sq. meters.

“We have not finished it yet and we have decided to expand it,” he said.

He credited his father, Henry Sy, for the group’s aggressive expansion program, adding that he learned from his father how to think long-term.

“I believe this country has so much future growth. The retail industry is still going to be strong,” Sy said, adding that 80 percent of the earnings of Filipinos are being spent on consumables.

This year, SM Prime has plans to open three malls—SM City Masinag in Antipolo City, SM City San Fernando in Pampanga and SM City Olongapo in Zambales.

It also plans to expand two existing malls, SM City Davao and SM City Dasmariñas in Cavite.

By the end of the year, SM Prime will have 43 malls nationwide with a gross floor area (GFA) of 5.2 million square meters.

Including the SM malls in China, the company’s GFA will reach 5.9 million sq. m.