LEGAZPI CITY—Henry Sy’s SM Prime Holdings said it has earmarked P1 billion to construct another mall in Legazpi City’s central business district.
Mayor Noel Rosal said the SM City management is currently negotiating with LKY Corp., the operator of Legazpi City Terminal, for a possible team up to build a new mall within the heart of this city.
Rosal said the Henry Sy Group allotted P1 billion for this city which has proven to be resilient in the face of natural calamities due to climate change.
The announcement was made after the city government of Legazpi lifted the five-year moratorium on the construction of big business establishments to protect small entrepreneurs here.
Currently, three malls are being constructed in Legazpi—the LCC-Ayala Mall, Yashano Mall and Gregorian Mall.
The SM City in Legazpi, according to Rosal, would be built within the Legazpi City Grand Terminal, near the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation and a few meters away from Metro Gaisano-Pacific Mall and Yashano Mall and a half kilometer from LCC-Ayala Mall.
SM Prime Holdings currently has 58 malls, six of which are in China.
Aside from expanding malls in this city, Gaisano will also be putting up a condotel to cater to the growing number of tourists who visit Legazpi.
“With these investments and new malls, Legazpi City will be expanding as a trading hub in South Luzon as people from Leyte and Samar will only cross Ticao Island in Masbate. We’re expecting 5 million people in Legazpi once all business establishments are operational,” Rosal said.
Being a trading and services hub in South Luzon, as well as education and convention center, Rosal expects a booming economic growth and more hotel investments in the city.
“Five years from now, Legazpi will be one of the country’s booming cities in South Luzon, with bigger taxes. We started from P200-million taxes from business permits to P700 million today. A few years from now, I expect about P1.1-billion income from local taxes with our new investments,” he said.
New investments are expected to pour into Legazpi two years before the completion of the Bicol International Airport (BIA) in Alobo, Daraga, Albay.
Rosal said the 69-hectare-old airport in Legazpi City will be converted into an economic zone as soon as the BIA becomes operational in 2017.