CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) will open on Friday its 44th mall in the country. 

In a statement, the SMPH said SM City San Fernando is “strategically located right at the heart of the city in line the heritage district.” The 7-story mall is only a few meters from the city hall and the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando.

In October 2000, SMPH opened its first mall in Central Luzon at the boundary of this city and Mexico town, while another mall is in Clark, Angeles City.

SM Pampanga is about six kilometers away from SM City San Fernando.  

Gov. Lilia Pineda and mayor Oscar Rodriguez, who supported the establishment of the third Sy-owned mall in Pampanga, are expected to lead the blessing and inauguration of the mall on Thursday afternoon.  

The SMPH said the high-rise mall has a total land area of 7,835 square meters (sqm) and 28,753 sqm of floor area. Major tenants are SM Department Store and SM Supermarket which will occupy 8,189.39 sqm and 2,578.01 sqm, respectively.

“The mall and its exterior heritage design will please every shopper to its convenient, secured, and fun-loaded worry-free shopping. Anchor tenants like the SM Department Store, SM Supermarket, SM Cinema plus fashion, electronics, beauty wellness shops, vital services and restaurants with three levels of parking will provide the best shopping experience that everyone is looking for,” said the SMPH statement.

This development came as the SMPH started in January the rehabilitation of the SM Clark in Angeles City. The work reportedly worth at least P.5 billion is expected to be completed by March 2013.  

Ana Datu, SM Clark assistant mall manager, said site development had been completed and new and additional parking lots are now ready for use. “We are in the process of connecting the new expansion building with the main mall. This is the reason we have to temporarily close the meeting place area and reroute traffic,” said Datu.

The expansion at the SM Clark branch opened in 2006 will be for its additional retail stores and business process outsourcing offices. It sits on a 16-hectare area at boundary of Angeles City and Mabalacat.