SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) is scheduled to open two more malls this year as well as complete the expansion of two existing ones.

The Sy-controlled company said it expects to inaugurate SM City Rosales in Pangasinan and SM City Baliwag in Bulacan, and finish the expansion of The Annex at SM North Edsa and SM Fairview in Quezon City. This brings the total number of its malls to 33 nationwide.

The expansion of its SM Megamall Bridgeway has been completed and will be inaugurated today. The Bridgeway, which will add 15,109 square meters (sq.m.) of gross floor area (GFA) to the main mall, includes a chapel at the top floor, which is enough to seat 1,000 churchgoers. The new space will increase Megamall’s total GFA to 346,788 sq.m.

In a statement, SM Prime president Hans Sy said, “We honor SM Megamall with this expansion, a proof of how we keep in step with the times, how we look after our markets, and how we value and maintain our treasured assets.  The SM Megamall is at the center of our three largest malls on Edsa. SM Prime remains steadfast in its commitment to bring value and better service to our customers.”

By itself, the Bridgeway has a gross leasable area of 8,120 sq.m and its tenants include shoes and apparel shops Gap, Promod, Liz Claiborne, Steve Madden, Franco Sarto, Aldo, 5CM, Lacoste Footwear, La Senza, and Zoo York; food outlets Choi Garden, Secret Recipes, Haagen Dazs, Amici, C2 Classic Cuisine, Kebab Factory, Painted Red, Gumbo and Toastbox; and coffee chains Starbucks, Blenz Coffee, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Bo’s Coffee; among others.

The country’s leading mall developer and operator earlier said it is setting aside P10 billion for the construction of new malls in the Philippines and in China next year.

The company is building five more shopping centers in the Philippines in 2009, on top of the expansion of various existing malls. In China, a mall will be put up in Suzhou City by the end of next year, while another will be opened by 2010 in ChongQuing. One more SM mall will rise in Xiandong in 2011.