By Antonio Colina IV DAVAO CITY – The four-story NCCC Mall Buhangin worth nearly P1 billion is slated for opening in July 2018, seven months after the homegrown company’s first mall in Davao City was destroyed by fire on December 23, 2017, public relations manager Thea Septann S. Padua said. A month after a fire claimed the lives of 38 persons, the once bustling façade of NCCC Mall in Davao City is now bereft of any activity. (Keith Bacongco) The second mall will generate around 1,500 to 2,000 jobs and will accommodate the displaced tenants from their mall in Ma-a, she said. Padua added that around 85 tenants, comprising a mixture of high-end and local brands, will be housed in the latest mall, described as an upscale retail and commercial development, which was inaugurated on September 24, 2016 in a nearly one-hectare property on Km. 7, Tigatto Road, Barangay Buhangin. Padua said the company installed a building management system, a centralized system that allows the mall management to detect any emergencies to prevent a repeat of the massive deadly fire that killed 38 workers. This would have been the homegrown company’s second in the city and fourth in the country after the ill-fated 14-year-old NCCC Mall Davao in Maa, NCCC Mall Tagum, and NCCC Mall Puerto Princesa. Designed by architecture firm Asya Design, Padua added that NCCC Mall Buhangin will showcase an al fresco garden area/roof deck on the fourth floor and will boast of features such as “highly-efficient air-conditioning system that generates more airflow but less noise, skylights that let in natural lighting and the use of volatile organic compound paint which are less toxic.” “More than just a mall, NCCC Mall Buhangin will provide a social setting that makes the whole development special beyond glass, mortar, steel and stone – a place where people can enjoy and conveniently do what they want and need as part of their daily routine, make new memories and most importantly, spend quality time with their loved ones,” she said. Unlike its first mall, Padua said the NCCC Mall Buhangin will not have a space dedicated for the business process outsourcing (BPO) but it will have four cinemas, each sporting “the latest Dolby Atmos Sound Technology with a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos system and XPand 3D,” the first and only in Mindanao. Padua added the company has a plan to redevelop the mall in Ma-a. “Yes, we will redevelop it. We’re still waiting for the report (from Interagency Anti-Arson Task Force) so we can start the demolition,” she said. The task force, comprising Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), BFP, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 11, completed the report in March 2018. Fire Supt. Jerry Candido, task force deputy team leader and spokesperson, said criminal complaints will be filed against the management of the NCCC Mall Davao, Survey Sampling International (SSI), Rockfort Construction Company, and officials from Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Davao, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and City Building Office for the massive fire that hit the 14-year-old four-story mall in Ma-a, Davao City. The City Building Office (CBO) issued the permit for demolition on February 20 to NCCC Mall Davao management. The permit stated the demolition will commence only after the “building has been vacated and all utility lines such as electric, gas, telephone and water installations have been disconnected.” The permit requires the mall management to complete the demolition within a period of 30 days from the starting date. It requires the management to inform the city government five days prior to the demolition. Padua said there is still no schedule of the demolition yet, as they await copy of the report from the task force.