THE PLANNED CityMall in the high-end subdivision Northtown in Davao City has been endorsed for second reading by the City Council committee on housing, rural and urban development. After last week’s hearing, the committee is now finalizing its recommendation for the approval of the project. Based on its filing before the council, the shopping mall, a joint venture between CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI) and Alsons Development and Investment Corp., will be a two-story structure on a 1.5-hectare lot. It will be located within the 116-hectare Northtown, a project of the Alsons group, which is adjacent to another residential complex of the company, the 87-hectare North Crest. Eric D. Dela Costa, Alsons Development vice president and general manager, said the mall will help the housing project become a “complete and self-sustaining township.” Edgar J. Sia II, CMCCI chair, said the mall is among the 100 the company plans to set up by 2020. Based on the initial plan, the mall will house food outlets under the Jollibee group and various shops under SM Investments Corp. such as Savemore supermarket, Ace Hardware, and Watson’s, as well as branches of BDO Unibank, Inc. and China Banking Corp. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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