Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Construction is expected to restart within days on a troubled Pittsburgh casino project after state officials approved a rescue by new investors.

The rescue plan on the partially built USD 780 million casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore received the approval Thursday from the seven-member Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The unanimous vote came after the gaming board’s staff gave the deal a green light during a four-hour hearing.

Chicago real-estate billionaire Neil Bluhm is leading the new investor group.

During the hearing, Bluhm told the gaming board that its approval would allow contractors to be paid and work to restart Monday.

Construction stopped July 1 after the licensee, Detroit-based businessman Don Barden, defaulted on loans and ran out of money.