By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THE Army and Air Force Exchange Service will be spending $240 million to upgrade its services on Guam and its other facilities in the Pacific.
The $240 million is part of a $1.1 billion fund that AAFES plans to spend worldwide over the next four years to build new facilities and renovate existing ones.
Of that $1.1 billion, about $240 million will go to facilities in the Pacific including Guam, Okinawa, Hawaii, Japan and South Korea.
On Guam, the money will be used for a 181,000-square foot shopping center complete with a Post Exchange, a food court and services mall located at Andersen Air Force Base.
Andersen Air Force Base has an existing full service main base exchange that offers a wide variety of personal and household goods, including an up-to-date selection of clothing, books, compact discs and electronics, as well as a Furniture Mart that offers a large variety of furniture and household appliances such as washers, dryers and refrigerators.
AAFES on Andersen also has a variety of smaller facilities to meet customer needs like “shoppettes” that conveniently offers snacks, health and beauty aids and beverages, as well as VCR/DVD rentals and stores that offer a selection of home and garden items, camping equipment, sporting goods, weightlifting supplements, toys and games for all ages.
But with AAFES’ ambitious expansion program, Andersen within two years will have a large, new and improved Army and Air Force Exchange Service Base Exchange.
This building will be located directly across from the new shoppette and will have approximately 60 percent more space, which is more than Andersen’s current shopping center.
In two years, the total complex size of Andersen’s base exchange is expected to be 182,000 square feet.
The facility is envisioned to have everything under one roof, including more on-base eateries and an increased selection in all departments, as well as a barber shop, a beauty salon, an optical shop and a children’s playground inside the mall.
The ground breaking ceremony for the new Andersen exchange was held earlier this year with a scheduled opening for 2009.