"We are aiming to conduct the tender in June and select the consultant as early as July...and they will be given around a year to do the planning," said the official, who declined to be named.
The consultant will help plan facilities at the resort and the investment required, and a supervisory committee headed by Transportation and Communications Minister Mao Chi-Kuo will handle regulatory issues involving the casinos, the official said.
"This committee will likely set up a new governmental agency in the future to manage the running of casinos," the official added.
The Commercial Times reported Monday the consultant will be hired to help plan a casino resort that will be operated under a build-operate-transfer basis, with a total investment amount of around us$ 1.8 bilion.