MANILA - Megaworld said Tuesday it would invest an additional P54 billion on a 31-hectare development in the capital's mega-casino strip, in a bet on growing tourism.

This will bring the total investment of billionaire Andrew Tan's Alliance Global in Westside City to P121 billion, Megaworld said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Megaworld earlier committed P10 billion for the project while hotel and resort developer Travellers International set aside $1.1 billion or roughly P57 billion, according to the statement.

Shares of Megaworld were up 1.96 percent in early trading Tuesday, compared to a 0.41 percent rise in the main index.

Westside City is located in Entertainment City, home to billion-dollar resorts that the government is positioning as the country's answer to Las Vegas and Macau.

Megaworld said it would build 2 new homegrown hotel brands with a combined room capacity of 1,214. The hotels will be connected directly to the casino.

"The demand is high and we want to tap every available opportunity in this booming side of the metro," said Megaworld senior vice president and treasurer Francis Canuto.

"We give our all-out support to the country’s growing tourism industry. Providing more hotel options will further boost tourist arrivals especially in this growth area," he said.

Megaworld said it would also build a 15-tower residential and resort complex.

Westside City currently has 4,000 residential inventory worth P50 billion, Megaworld said.