BELLE Corp. plans to acquire additional land within a planned casino-entertainment complex in the Manila Bay area to expand its casino operations.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the property developer said it requested state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for a lease proposal on a 10-hectare lot within Pagcor City, allowing the firm to build a second casino in the area.

Belle and Pagcor have yet to reach an agreement on a lease or land acquisition transaction, which will be subject to approval by Belle’s board of directors, the company said.

Development of the property will require at least $1 billion, thus increasing Belle’s investment in the complex following its $750-million Belle Grande Manila Bay.

Belle fully owns Premium Leisure & Amusement Inc., which was granted a provisional license by Pagcor to establish and operate the casino.

The three other licensees are Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., a joint venture between Alliance Global Group Inc. and Genting Hong Kong; Universal Entertainment and Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. of ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr.

Belle Grande Manila Bay will feature 250,000 square meters of gross floor area, nearly 20,000 square meters of gaming space and more than 10,000 square meters of retail space.

HSAI Raintree was recently tapped to run its all-suite hotel. The complex will also house four-star hotels as well as four condotels.

Belle has acquired the services of Asia Pacific Gaming Management and Consultancy, which operates five casinos in Macau, to help run the casino operations.

Its shares added 2 centavos or 0.43 percent to P4.67 each on Wednesday from P4.65 apiece.