SM opens new mall in Bataan

MANILA, Philippines — SM Investments Corp., the listed holding company of the Sy Group, through its property arm, has expanded its footprint in southern Luzon with the opening of another mall.

SM Prime opened its 83rd mall in Balanga, Bataan, which integrates sustainability features in its design and operations.

The company is able to reach more communities through the opening of the new mall, said engineer Junias Eusebio, senior assistant vice president of SM Supermalls for Mall Operations of North Luzon.

“We continue to reach more communities and provide services where we can. Where there is SM, there’s also the SM Markets for the daily needs of the families, there’s Watsons for medicines and hygienic needs, there’s also Ace Hardware for the repairs and maintenance of the community’s houses,” he said, adding that the transport terminal is connected to the mall.

As part of its sustainability efforts, SM Prime has incorporated disaster resiliency in the mall’s design given the geographic location of the coastal city.

Balanga experiences annual flooding based on its history of recurring disasters.

As such, SM has equipped the mall with two rainwater catchment tanks that can hold up to 900 cubic meters combined or equal to 3.6 million 250mL glasses of water. The catchment tanks aim to reduce soil erosion and flow of stormwater that causes urban flooding.

SM City Bataan also utilizes clerestory windows, a series of large windows, for better light ventilation which lessens the electricity consumption of the facility. This could save up to approximately 2240 kWh of energy daily.

The SM Group supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. SM City Bataan, for instance, uses recycled water for water closet flushing, landscape maintenance, and to supply water to the cooling towers of the building’s air conditioning system.

SM continues to integrate sustainability in its daily operations, the company said.

To illustrate, the SM Group said that as of 2022 it has already recycled 42.5 million cubic meters of water, enough to fill 17,000 Olympic-sized pools.

The opening of SM City Bataan marked the company’s 25th mall with a rainwater catchment basin and 28th with electric vehicle charging station.

These efforts are part of the SM Group’s commitment to sustainable practices.