SM PRIME Holdings, Inc., the listed mall development unit of the SM Group, will be establishing a presence in Zambales province by launching a mall in Olongapo City on Friday, a disclosure to the local bourse showed on Thursday.

SM City Olongapo, SM Prime’s 42nd mall and its first for 2012, will rise on a 9,259 square-meter lot and will have a gross floor area of 46,869 square meters when it opens on Feb. 10, the disclosure read.

“The opening of SM City Olongapo is doubly significant for SM Prime, as it is the company’s first shopping mall to be opened this year and it is also the very first SM mall in Zambales province,” said Hans T. Sy, SM Prime president.

Around 81% of SM City Olongapo’s total leasable space of 22,462 square meters has already been awarded to various tenants such as BDO, Watsons, Ace Hardware, National Bookstore, Jollibee, and KFC, among others.

Major tenants SM Department Store and SM Supermarket are set to occupy 11,364- and 3,929 square meters, respectively, of floor space in the new mall.

Other mall amenities include an al fresco dining area, three cinemas with a combined seating capacity of 758, and over 300 parking spaces. — FJGDLF