MANILA, Philippines — SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), the Philippines’ dominant shopping mall developer and operator, is set to spend P1.4 billion to expand its existing SM City Bacolod in two phases within 2012 up to 2014.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the SM City Bacolod Annex will add 102,043 square meters (sqm) of gross floor area (GFA) to the main mall, increasing SM City Bacolod’s total GFA to 171,380 sqm. The Annex will offer 81,204 sqm of gross leasable area.

Located on Rizal Street in the Reclamation Area of Bacolod City, The Annex is expected to provide employment for an additional estimated 2,000 persons.

SM Prime first opened in Bacolod in March 2007, its third mall in the Visayas, in addition to existing SM City Cebu and SM City Iloilo.

SM City Bacolod originally has 71,759 sqm of gross floor area and divided between two structures, namely, Buildings A and B, anchored by SM Department Store and SM Supermarket.

Total investment cost to put up the existing structure was at P1.6 billion and the mall currently provides employment for 3,000 people.

“We are pleased to announce our planned expansion of SM City Bacolod. It is our way of paying tribute to the residents of Bacolod City and of nearby areas,” SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said.

He added that “this expansion clearly manifests SM Prime’s steadfast commitment to assist in the further development and progress of the city through increased tax payments to the local government, as well as by providing residents an improved destination mall and a highly viable venue for business and commerce.”

Sy said “our continuing business expansion only affirms our commitment to provide for better retail facilities and services in cities and municipalities that are fast emerging from greater economic stability fueled by remittances from overseas workers and the growth in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.”

Earlier this year, SM Prime opened SM City Olongapo in Zambales. For the rest of 2012, SM Prime is scheduled to launch SM City Lanang in Davao City, SM City General Santos in South Cotabato, SM City Consolacion in Cebu, SM City San Fernando in Pampanga and SM Chongqing in China.

By the end of 2012, SM Prime will have 46 malls in the Philippines and five in China with an estimated combined GFA of 6.3 million sqm. (JAL)