#Docklands - Local business interests and marine authorities are mooting ambitious new plan to construct a dozen pontoons along the River Liffey in Dublin's Docklands in 2014.
The Sunday Times last weekend reported that the €4 million scheme, put forward by the Docklands Business Forum, has the backing of the Dublin Port Company and Waterways Ireland as well as Dublin City Council.
It forms part of the port's 30-year 'masterplan' and is intended to revive the Royal and Grand Canals that feed into the Liffey on the north and south sides respectively, and encourage visiting yachts to moor closer to the city centre.
"The Docklands has a huge resource for boats which we just need to improve," said the forum's chief executive Alan Robinson.
Among those suggested improvements is the refurbishing of Camden Lock on the Grand Canal Basin - but first in line are the pontoons, which were a temporary feature of the capital during last year's Tall Ships Festival.
The intention is to make these pontoons a permanent fixture between the East Link Bridge and the Samuel Beckett Bridge, to "generate a new type of activity in the city" in an area that recently hosted its first annual Riverfest, not to mention the once-in-a-lifetime FlightFest.