It was initially envisaged as a 10-kilometre trail linking Royal Park with Port Philip Bay through North Melbourne,Docklands,the CBD and Southbank Boulevard,with parkland built on huge decks above rail yards in the city.
But the vision has been scaled back to just four kilometres of uninterrupted green space and projects to improve the habitat and quality of the river water itself.
The business case report,prepared by consultancy firm Ernst&Young,says the $300 million development would return $740 million in economic and community benefit to the state over the next two decades.
Melbourne City councillors will consider the business case and vote on whether to endorse it on Tuesday. It was released to the public on Friday,with the first stage of the project of installing“floating wetlands” in the Yarra to begin next year.
The business case also forecasts that the project would create 6400 extra jobs by 2042 and 3400 direct and indirect construction jobs.
Principal at consulting firm SGS Economics,Marcus Spiller,said the return on investment for the project was much higher than that of major tunnel and rail projects,which often return only $1.50 for every dollar spent.