BILLIONAIRE businessman Sir Terry Matthews has spoken of his plans to double the size of the hotel and build another golf course at his Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.

The Newbridge-born entrepreneur told the Argus about his ten-year-plan for the resort which hosted the Ryder Cup in October 2010.

Sir Terry, believed to be worth around £1.09 billion and recently named the richest person in Wales, said he would like to apply for planning permission to increase the size of the hotel's room capacity, which could create an extra 230 at the resort.

He said: "The other key thing we want to do and we donÕt have planning permission just yet, is to grow the hotel by 50 per cent in room capacity."

The resort's main hotel currently has 330 rooms and he has already spent more than £150 million on the resort over the last 20 years.

Sir Terry said he would also like to create another 18-hole golf course at the resort on the other side of the bridge.

"I own the land and we have the room there for another golf course. WeÕd really like to do that," he said.

The resort, which stands on the site of the maternity hospital where Sir Terry was born, now has adventure golf courses, has hosted tennis events and held its first polo event last July on the former 2010 practise ground.

The businessman said he would like to expand the amount of land allocated for polo so he can attract top level events to the five-star resort.

As the Argus previously revealed, the Celtic Manor recently applied for planning permission from Newport City Council to build ten new lodges for visitors but a decision has not yet been made.

Sir Terry said he wants the resort to be the best conference centre in Europe - something he called a "realistic ambition."

"I first brought the Manor House 30-years ago and look where we are now. We have the number one resort for golf in the UK, the number one conference facility in the UK, the number one spa facility in the UK and the number one golf facility in Europe, those are all awards that weÕve won. We want to now build a conference centre that is ranked the best in Europe over the next 10 or 20 years," he said.

Sir Terry said this would mean a great deal to Newport economically.

He said: "The crossover between business and golf is huge and weÕve got the golf accolades, youÕll see that in publications worldwide. Can I marry up the conference facilities to the golf ones? I think I can. But the government will need to be on our side and support our vision."