LAS VEGAS (AP) - MGM Resorts International may sell off parts of its city within a city project on the Las Vegas Strip.

CEO Jim Murren told the Associated Press Wednesday that the company would be open to selling pieces of its $8.5 billion CityCenter project.

The complex was built during boom times, but opened amid the recession in 2009. It houses the 4,000-room Aria hotel-casino.

Murren says that there are no negotiations, but the company sees the properties around Aria as opportunities for sale.

He says the 500,000-square-foot luxury mall Crystals is especially enticing to investors.

Executives emphasized the importance of reducing MGM debt during a conference call discussing the company's fourth quarter earnings released Wednesday.

MGM owns CityCenter in a 50-50 partnership with Dubai World, the investment arm of Dubai's government.

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