Malaysia's Genting International will build a Universal Studios theme park for more than one-billion US dollars if it wins the bid for Singapore's second casino licence.

The park would draw in excess of five million visitors a year and feature 16 new or updated rides, Singapore's The Business Times reported from Orlando, Florida, where local reporters met Universal executives.

Genting and Star Cruises, both part of the Malaysian casino operator Genting Group, have tied-up with Universal Parks and Resorts of the United States to bid for a casino-entertainment project on Singapore's Sentosa island.

Three other groups have expressed interest in the Sentosa bid but only Genting has publicly revealed details about its plans. Bidding closes on October 10 with a winner announced by the end of the year.

Universal Studios theme parks operate in Japan as well as the United States.

The Singapore park would cover slightly less than half the 49-hectare site allocated for the Sentosa project, The Business Times quoted Mark Woodbury, Universal Parks and Resorts chief creative officer, as saying.

Sentosa, a small island just south of Singapore, is already home to beaches, luxury residential development and an entertainment complex.

Three other groups have expressed interest in the project: US gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment, which has teamed with Singapore property firm Keppel Land; Eighth Wonder Asia; and Bahamas-based Kerzner International which has teamed with CapitaLand, another Singapore property firm.

Singapore last year ended a ban on casino gambling in a bid to spruce up its staid image and attract more tourists. It then announced plans for two casino "resorts" -- facilities that would include hotels and other facilities as well as gaming areas.

The city-state in May awarded Las Vegas Sands a licence to build a 3.2-billion US dollar casino project in the waterfront Marina Bay area, with the opening due in 2009.