ATLANTIC CITY - Gaming giant MGM Mirage Inc. continues to work with its architects and is preparing to hire a construction contractor as it moves forward with plans for a $5 billion Atlantic City megaresort, the company said Tuesday.

MGM hopes to start construction this year on a development that would feature three hotel towers totaling 3,000 rooms, the largest gaming floor in town and 500,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space.

Chairman Terry Lanni said the company is refining the designs with its New York architect Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and is in the advance stage of selecting the general contractor to oversee construction.

Lanni, who gave a brief update on the project Tuesday during a conference call on MGM's first-quarter earnings, also said the company is awaiting approval of a key construction permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.