SM PRIME Holdings, Inc. is expanding its footprint in Mindanao with the opening of a second shopping mall in Cagayan de Oro City.

SM CDO Downtown Premier
In a statement, SM Prime said SM CDO Downtown Premier, with its 178,000 square meters of gross floor area, is set to open on Friday (May 12).

“SM Prime is one with the government in creating more opportunities that highlight the economic growth potential of Mindanao. The opening of SM CDO Downtown Premier, which is at the gateway of Northern Mindanao, is our second SM mall in Cagayan de Oro, and fifth in Mindanao which reflects our commitment and confidence to this part of the country,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim was quoted as saying in a statement.

The mall will have a food court, bowing center, four digital theaters, two Director’s Club, one large-format cinema, and an 800-seater Sky Hall, similar to the one in SM Aura Premier in Taguig. It will also feature an al fresco dining area Sky Garden, patterned after the one in SM North EDSA in Quezon City.

Located in the city’s central business district, SM CDO Downtown Premier will also have an eight-level office building catering to companies in the business process outsourcing industry.

SM Prime said the new mall will also have a water catchment beneath, “which will be able to hold 13,650 cubic meters of rainwater to help lessen the flooding in the area.”

The property holding firm of Henry Sy, Sr. is set to open four more malls in the Philippines within the year, namely SM Cherry Antipolo in Rizal, SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown in Cagayan, SM City Puerto Princesa in Palawan and SM Center Lemery in Batangas.

The company is looking to have 65 malls in the country by the end 2017. Broken down, SM Prime will have 22 malls in Metro Manila, 33 in Luzon outside of Metro Manila, five in the Visayas and five in Mindanao.

SM Prime posted an annual 13% growth in earnings to P6.60 billion in the first quarter of 2017 compared to P5.84 billion, backed by the expansion of its shopping mall business.