SM offers to buy lot from Cebu city gov’t for next big project, WOW

My comment:  We welcome such a investment to make Cebu truly great!

From Business World Online Nov 24 2009 Sy-led SM Prime Holdings, Inc. has submitted an unsolicited offer to develop part of the South Road Properties in Cebu City into what would be the listed mall developer’s next big-ticket project after the SM Mall of Asia.

SM Prime President Hans T. Sy said as much as P20 billion would be spent over the next 15 years to build a shopping, entertainment, and residential complex.

“We have officially made an offer [to acquire part of] the South Road Properties [last month]. Hopefully, everything goes well and we are quite confident [about it] because it is not a joint venture [project],” Mr. Sy said in an interview.

SM Prime, the country’s largest mall developer, offered to buy 28 hectares of the 240-hectare reclaimed lot for P11,000 per square meter or almost P3 billion, which Mr. Sy said was a “high price for a provincial standard.”

The site will host the group’s second mall and some residential projects. The plan is to transform the area into a smaller version of the Mall of Asia in Pasay.

SM Prime will start development in the area as soon as the group acquires the 20-hectare portion, Mr. Sy said, adding that he hopes to secure the contract in January.

“We are looking at a 15-year development and the target is about P20 billion. It will have institutional components [like] schools as well as a residential component and a hotel and convention center on top of the shopping center,” Mr. Sy said.

The group will likely build the mall first, to be followed by the residential component five years later, he said. Should the residential project push through, this will be sister SM Development Corp.’s first venture in Cebu City and outside Metro Manila.

“That is the next big project [of SM Prime] although on top of that we also have General Santos already and we are acquiring some more [lands] in the Mindanao area. There is still a lot of opportunity,” he said.

SM Prime has one mall in the Cebu City, the largest mall in the area, the fourth-largest shopping mall in the country, and the 11th largest in the world.  Contnue reading here http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=2026

Also read SM Prime open to joint venture for 240-hectare Cebu City project
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=526700&publicationSubCategoryId=66