Megaworld investing P10 B for 8 new malls

MANILA, Philippines — Megaworld Corp. will spend in P10 billion to build eight new malls across the country in the next three years.

Kevin Tan, Megaworld’s chief strategy officer, said the company’s Megaworld Lifestyle Malls brand would be expanding in key growth areas around the country.

“We will continue to tap opportunities for our retail partners to further expand and grow their brands with us,” he said.

Megaworld will open eight new malls and commercial centers in key regional areas for a total of 200,000 square meters of fresh retail inventory.

The additional malls will be located in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Boracay, Cavite, and Pampanga, Tan said.

The development of the new malls comes on the heels of the launch of Megaworld’s revitalized Megaworld Lifestyle Malls brand with its new logo. 

Each new mall will have a distinct character and vibe, a concept in which Megaworld Lifestyle Malls has been known for, Tan said.

“We veer away from standardizing our malls. We study and curate them based on what its location is all about. We want each mall to have its own charm and identity – something that makes each one ‘endemic’ to the city where it is located.”

Among the malls in the pipeline are Maple Grove Mall in General Trias, Cavite and the Northill Town Center in Northill Gateway, Bacolod City. 

Maple Grove Mall will be a greenhouse-inspired mall surrounded with gardens and trees – complementing the ‘green’ vibe of the Maple Grove township while the Northill Town Center will showcase the ‘hacienda-style’ town center in which Negros has been known for.

“Our goal is to have a mall in each township that we have. And in every lifestyle mall, we will always help and support local entrepreneurs in that area to flourish and build their businesses with us,” Tan said.

Megaworld presently has 17 lifestyle malls across the Philippines and a total retail space portfolio of around 710,000 square meters.

Its flagship malls under the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls brand include Eastwood Mall in Quezon City; Uptown Mall, Venice Grand Canal and Forbes Town in Taguig City; Newport Mall at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City; Lucky Chinatown in Binondo, Manila; Southwoods Mall in Biñan, Laguna; and Festive Walk Mall in Iloilo City.

These malls have brought Megaworld’s mall rental revenue to P5.5 billion, accounting for almost 40 percent of the company’s rental revenue last year.