THE COMMERCIAL properties arm of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. said it may hike its P4-billion capital expenditure (capex) budget to finance its planned office buildings in Pampanga and Cebu this year.

“There could be an increase. We have new projects that we did not originally plan but may be executed within the year,” David L. Rafael, senior vice-president of SM Prime Commercial Properties Group (CPG), told BusinessWorld in an interview last week.

Last year, SM’s commercial unit spent between P3.5 billion and P4 billion.

“We’re looking at an office project in Pampanga. We also don’t know if we will proceed with a project in Cebu SRP (South Road Properties) this year or next year,” he added, but said the company has yet to finalize the budget.

The SM Prime unit may scrap a plan to build an office project in Ortigas district, which sits on a 6,000-square-meter (sq.m.) property owned by the SM Group near Saint Pedro Poveda College.

“Right now, we’re looking at residential instead of office. So baka mag-iba ’yung use (So the property could be used for other developments),” Mr. Rafael said.

He said the group also owns another 6,000-sq.m. property along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Quezon City, which will be used for another office project.

“It’s under discussion. It’s going to be part of a mixed-use development,” Mr. Rafael said.

Also ongoing is the construction of the SM Prime unit’s six-building office space within the 76-hectare Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

Primarily targeted to house the business process outsourcing, logistics and shipping industries, the E-com Centers will be completed by 2019.