Despite being forced to suspend construction on the Morpheus hotel tower at its City of Dreams Macau development earlier this month, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited has reportedly announced that it still hopes to open the new enterprise during the first half of next year complete with casino games.

According to a report from G3 Newswire, the revelation from Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, came after authorities in Macau asked that all work on the $1 billion project be stopped following the death on July 14 of a 33-year-old construction worker from mainland China.

Designed by late Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid, the five-star Morpheus hotel tower had reportedly been scheduled to open in April of 2018 offering approximately 780 rooms along with suites, duplex villas and “sky villas” while a high-speed elevator is set to transport visitors to an observation deck featuring views of the interior atrium.

“We see Morpheus as a massive catalyst to launch City of Dreams Macau 2.0,” Ho told G3 Newswire. “Within the property we can easily house 50-plus tables. City of Dreams Macau next year is going to feel like a brand new property. There will be dedicated gaming space within Morpheus at various levels. We are going to have 50-plus tables.”

G3 Newswire reported that the revelation came as Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, which was known as Melco Crown Entertainment Limited until an early-April name-change, posted a 21% increase year-on-year in second-quarter net revenues to $1.29 billion. The Hong Kong-listed firm moreover reported a 76% swell in operating income for the three-month period to $127.44 million while its net income rose by 18.5% to reach $36.47 million.

“I don’t think any architecture in any building in Macau is remotely close to Morpheus,” Ho reportedly told G3 Newswire. “Based on the government’s track record of rewarding operators for investments in terms of diversification and the beautification of Macau, I think we check all of those boxes. Naturally, it’s out of our control in terms of how many tables we get but we are going to be submitting our relevant documentation to the government and we will see where it goes.”