Villar, Korean partner finalize deal for $1 billion casino venture

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel Villar Jr., the country’s richest man based on Forbes’ individual count, plans to build two casinos in Villar City, a new masterplanned mixed-use estate in the south.

He will invest roughly $1 billion for the planned integrated casino resort.

The first casino will rise on the 18,000-square-meter Vista Mall Global South, situated along C5 extension in Las Piñas.

Villar has already tapped a South Korean partner to operate the planned casinos, which will target foreign high rollers as well as domestic players.

Aside from the casino, there will be other anchor developments in Villar City including an amusement park, an arena big enough to host a Taylor Swift concert, schools, hospitals and churches and sprawling nature parks.

The 3,500-hectare Villar City, Villar’s most ambitious property development, is trumpeted as the “new center of gravity.”

Villar City will span 15 cities: Taguig, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Bacoor, Dasmariñas, Imus, San Pedro, General Mariano Alvarez, Silang, General Trias, Tanza, Trece Martires, Carmona and Tagaytay.

Recently, Villar led the formal opening of the 10-kilometer Villar Avenue, which will serve as the main artery of Villar City.

Villar likewise announced the acquisition of the four-kilometer Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) through Prime Asset Ventures Inc. (PAVI).

At 3,500 hectares, Villar said his new venture would be about 10 times bigger than Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

“This is going to be a work of a lifetime – even beyond my lifetime – because of its sheer size. I won’t be able to see it through its full completion, but it would be a proud moment for all of us here now to say that we are the pioneers of Villar City,” Villar said.

Based on the masterplan, Villar City will have 15 satellite cities, which will include a modern CBD, a Tech Valley, a university town and a premier lifestyle hub.

These satellite cities will also be seamlessly connected via a thoughtfully planned road network that links to major thoroughfares such as Daang Hari and MCX, among others.

“We will open the Brittany Hotel here, hopefully by December this year. We will also build a golf course nearby, a church, a coliseum where local and foreign artists can perform concerts, as well as a casino. And that’s just one portion of Villar City. We have a lot more ambitious plans in the pipeline that will benefit the Filipino people,” Villar said.