MANILA, Philippines — On the sidelines of its annual stockholders meeting Monday, Belle Corp. president and chief executive officer Manuel Gana told reporters the group is proposing to expand the 6.2-hectare mixed-use complex in Entertainment City.
Gana said they have a one-hectare property across City of Dreams which could be used to expand its hotel facilities.
“We proposed to Melco for an expansion because we need more hotel rooms. They’re almost full capacity all the time,” Gana said, noting that average occupany rates of the 900-room hotel is above 90 percent.
However, Gana said Belle Corp. is still waiting for the response of its partner Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp.
“So the ball is in their court. We’re waiting to hear back from them,” Gana said.
The company official said if the expansion pushes through, Belle Corp. will be in charge of doing the base build of the project, while Melco will handle the interiors of the development.
Asked if Belle Corp. is eyeing another casino project in another location, Gana said they would need another license for the project from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.(PAGCOR).
“If it’s possible to get another license or to have another site or extension of our current license, that is something we will be very interested in having, but again it’s not totally our call. We need PAGCOR to grant us another license,” Gana said.
Gana expressed optimism in the outlook for the Philippine gaming industry, emphasizing that it has a lot of room to expand particularly in areas outside Metro Manila.
“If PAGCOR were ever to privatize its operations, we might be interested in bidding for some of its locations, probably not in Metro Manila and Cebu,” Gana said.
He identified Laoag and Davao as attractive locations for these potential projects.
Meanwhile, for its real estate business, Gana said Belle Corp. still has 800 hectares of land in its Tagaytay Highlands project that will keep the company busy for the next five to 10 years.