Jubilant. Hans Sy, president/CEO of SM Prime Holdings, raises his hands to welcome thousands of opening-day shoppers at SM City Olongapo. Contributed photo
OLONGAPO CITY – Top political figures in Zambales and this city, including businessmen and officials of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), welcomed the opening of another branch of one of the country’s biggest shopping mall investors, the SM-Olongapo supermall in Magsaysay Drive, this city Thursday.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPI) President Hans Sy and SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia led the blessing and inauguration of the new SM mall.
“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,” Sy said.
The formal opening was graced by Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon Jr., SBMA Board of Director Anne Gordon, 1st District of Zambales Rep. Mitos Maysaysay and former SBMA Director and son Jobo Magsaysay, Vice Governor Ramon Lacbain, representing Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Subic Bay Chamber of Commerce President Danny Piano and SM top honcho Henry Sy Sr.
Monsignor Crisostomo Cacho and parish priests from the different parishes in Olongapo and Zambales celebrated the mass then, the blessing ceremony of the shopping center.
On Friday (February 10), the seven-storey mall – from supermarket, department store, appliances center, local and international food chains, three state-of-the art digital cinemas and the three-level parking lot – will serve customers in Zambales, Bataan and the more than 100,000 workforce of the Subic Bay Freeport.
Major tenants are SM Department Store and SM Supermarket, which will occupy 11,364 sq. m. and 3,929 sq m of floor space, respectively, SMPI said.
Gordon said the opening of SM City Olongapo will be a catalyst for employment and business opportunities, as well as lifestyle trends for residents of this bustling city and Zambales province.
The mayor also said the entry of the SM Group is bringing in more businesses into the city, having already registered as of the 4th quarter last year, and its supermarket’s soft opening last December 2011.
He added that the influx of new businesses in Olongapo and the awards earned by the city in 2011 affirm its competitiveness and the city government’s effective business promotion and development strategy.
SMPI is also set to open the SM City San Fernando in the downtown capital city of Pampanga on May 18, SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia said.
SMPI will have a total of seven supermalls in Region III by mid-2012.
SM Prime is scheduled to open SM City Lanang in Davao City, SM City General Santos in Southern Mindanao, SM City Consolacion in Cebu and SM Chongqing in China.
By the end of this year, SMPI will have 46 malls in the Philippines and five in China with M OLOman estimated combined gross floor area of 6.3 million square meters.
By Malou Dungog and Joey Pavia
