At least 20 sites have been put forward by property developers and landowners for the new £100 million Northern Ireland police training college.
With Chief Constable Mr Hugh Orde urging the replacement of the crumbling Garnerville facilities in east Belfast, a list has now been submitted for consideration before a decision in the summer. Sources said last night that interest had been huge.
"There are at least 20 serious bids," said one.
Under the Patten proposals for reforming the RUC, a new college was to be built by 2007. But ever since Mr Orde took over at the Police Service of Northern Ireland last September, he has become increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress. Efforts to find a new location intensified after Oversight Commissioner Mr Tom Constantine labelled the Garnerville a "third world" in his last report on the speed of police reform.
The college has been sited there since February 1986, when it was moved from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, where police recruits had been trained for 50 years.
It is understood the site of the old Maze Prison near Lisburn, Co Antrim, which some had argued was ideal, is not among the listed sites.
Politicians and businessmen in Derry have begun a campaign to bring the college to the city, with the Ebrington army barracks in the Waterside the favoured site.
SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan last month claimed recruits from both sides of the Border could use the facilities if they were switched to Derry. Even though authorities would prefer somewhere within 45 miles of Belfast, Mr Durkan insisted the city was the best option. However, unionists accused him of a cynical constituency politics stunt.
Police chiefs are now preparing business briefs for the contenders before a special working group makes a final decision. - (PA)