President Arroyo got an eyeful yesterday at the country’s first IMAX theater featuring rectangular movie screens measuring some eight stories high and 120 feet wide during the inauguration of the P6.5-billion SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

The IMAX theater will screen films in a massive three-dimensional format and is just one of the attractions at what is now one of the biggest shopping malls in the world. The new mall opened yesterday on a 19.5-hectare site in Pasay City overlooking scenic Manila Bay.

The President watched movie trailers at the IMAX cinema after touring the mall’s main building and dropped by the ice skating rink on the second floor to watch Filipino ice-skating world champions in practice.

The Mall of Asia located along the President Diosdao Macapagal Boulevard (PDMB) is expected to generate at least 20,000 jobs for residents of southern Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Cavite and Laguna.

Upon her arrival from Libis, Quezon City where she earlier inaugurated the new facilities of Hinduja Technology Media and Telecommunications (HTMT) Customer Contact Center, the President led the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the main lobby entrance of the massive shopping complex.

Henry Sy Sr., founder and chairman of SM Prime Holdings Inc., Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao ‘Peewee’ Trinidad assisted the President.

SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy escorted the President and briefed her on the features of the Mall of Asia — which the SM group of companies aims to turn into the premiere destination mall in the Asia-Pacific region.

The commercial complex, which measures more than 400,000 square meters, is SM Prime Holdings’ 25th supermall project and the company’s most ambitious to date.

The Mall of Asia covers a sprawling four buildings linked by elevated walkways — the Main Mall, the North Parking building, the South Parking building and the Entertainment Center building.

The Main Mall contains shopping and dining establishments, a food court and the country’s first Olympic-sized ice-skating rink. The South Parking building houses SM department store and half of the mall’s 5,000 parking slots.

The SM Hypermarket and more dining areas can be found at the North Parking building. Internal north and south streets have been converted into landscaped pedestrian walkways with outdoor retail and dining establishments.

The Entertainment Center building offers a spectacular view of Manila Bay and houses 10 theaters, including a Director’s Club and the IMAX theater.