In the southern American state of Florida and casino operator Genting Malaysia Berhad has reportedly received official permission to launch a feasibility study into the possibility of connecting its envisioned Resorts World Miami development to the nearby city of Miami Beach by means of a new monorail.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the approval from the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners is set to see the Kuala Lumper-listed casino giant conduct a $14 million investigation into the viability of constructing an about 3.5-mile extension to Miami’s existing Metromover light rail system so as to take the automated mass transit scheme across Biscayne Bay and into Miami Beach. The source detailed that such a project would likely come with an around $600 million price-tag although Genting Malaysia Berhad is hopeful that most of this cost would be borne by private investors such local development partner Meridiam Infrastructure North America Corporation.

Careful consideration:

The coming study is now reportedly due to take around 18 months to complete and will involve engineers employed by Genting Malaysia Berhad consulting with local city and county officials. The casino firm purportedly hopes that its plan will subsequently be approved to give it the right to construct the new monorail as well as a terminus on 30 acres of downtown Miami land it purchased in 2011 for the purposes of hosting its planned $3.1 billion Resorts World Miami integrated casino resort complex.

Legislative lag:

The envisioned monorail project would reportedly likely be managed by a local operating unit of Genting Malaysia Berhad, which include Resorts World Omni LLC and Resorts World Miami LLC, although the firm is still awaiting changes to state gaming laws before beginning work on its keystone Resorts World Miami development.

Project perseverance:

Despite no word on when these alterations may be forthcoming, Genting Malaysia Berhad has reportedly nevertheless already received permission to bring a 300-room hotel and a 50-slip marina to the waterfront Resorts World Miami site and moreover has plans to complement these amenities by refurbishing a connected national bus terminal.