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SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI), member of the SM group companies, the largest mall chain in the country today, will soon be building the biggest shopping mall in the Visayas and Mindanao. In three years’ time, the P2-billion land deal between SMPHI and the city of Cebu is expected to be finished.

The agreement has been signed by Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña and SMPHI president Hans Sy last week, citing the conditional sale of a 3-hectare area in the city’s reclamation project, which is the South Road Properties (SRP).

Sy said the project was their way of expressing their gratitude to Cebu for their unwavering support and confidence to the SM group. He also credits Osmeña for his “unwavering sales pitch.”

“This is it. This is the start of a whole new ball game,” Sy said, “To me, this is a start for us to roll up our sleeves and deliver a project that all Cebuanos will be proud of,” he continued.

SMPHI earlier paid the city about P270 million as bid bond for the project, after the signing of the deed of conditional sale, Sy turned over to Osmeña a check amounting to over P406.4 million which represents the balance in the down payment of P677.428 million for the property. Sy said the company would pour in a total of P20 billion for the entire project. They expect the whole project to be finished in eight years.

Sy also said that the project is more than just another shopping complex, because they will integrate development projects in the area, which include, aside from a shopping mall, two hotels, a university, and a hospital which would cost P20 billion upon completion.

The shopping mall project was conceptualized based on what Osmeña had envisioned for the SRP, said Ronal G. Tumao, SMPHI vice president for marketing research and planning department.