A major report on the future of Dublin Bay covering all options for existing users, including Dublin Port, is to be commissioned by Dublin City Council.
The report, for which tenders have been advertised on the Government's e-tendering website, will consider issues such as the economic value of the port and the bay's amenity, recreational and environmental considerations.
The report, which is expected to be completed by Christmas, will be used to draw up a master plan for the development of the bay.
It is being commissioned as Dublin Port pushes for permission to reclaim another 52 hectares of the bay which it maintains is needed to facilitate the State's economic expansion. The PDs have devised a plan to relocate Dublin Port near Drogheda.
According to Dublin City planner Jim Keogan, the new study will be a neutral exercise simply outlining the options.
"It will look at the options for the bay if Dublin Port expands, if the port does not expand or if the port moves. At this stage it is just a study to see what the baseline implications are: the framework plan will come later when the members [of the council] decide on what they want in the future."
Environmental aspects of the report will cover such items as the Bull Island biosphere and the Ringsend waste-water treatment plant.
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