The Victoria on the River development project that was expected to be completed in March is yet to begin and doesn't have a firm start date.
The Hamilton City Council development would transform an area on the bank of the Waikato River into an urban park, embracing the river as a defining geographic feature of Hamilton and giving locals and tourists a place to relax.
It was originally expected to be completed by March 2017, but delays in the process mean stage two of the development will not get underway until an indefinite date.
The initial phase of the tender process for the project was completed in October.
Since then, Hamilton City Council has been negotiating with its preferred tenderer.
"We'll have a better idea of construction timeframes once negotiations have been concluded," said general manager community Lance Vervoort.
"As for the cost and budget aspect, the budget has been allocated but we need to conclude the tender process first." Mayor Andrew King said the budget would not be revealed until after quotes and pricing are received.
"There won't be any secret about it," he said.
"It'll be publicly circulated information once the tenders have been accepted."
Victoria on the River will still definitely become a reality - it's just a case of when, he said.
"The budget's there. It's happening. It's just a matter of getting quotes and pricing in. That job will go ahead, the money's been set aside, we've voted for it, so there's nothing that can trip it up. It's just a matter of working through the process and sometimes construction jobs just take a little bit longer than what we anticipate, for various reasons. But it will happen."
The plan for Victoria on the River was approved by Council back in 2015.
It will be designed around giving access to the river by connections to the upper level river promenade from both ends of the area it will occupy.
There will also be a cycle, pram and wheelchair-accessible connection to the lower river walkway at the northern end.
The project will be funded by debt, as provisions were not made for it in the 10-Year Plan.
Council was told it would need to remediate the site at an estimated cost of up to $4.15 million.
In response to that, it voted to fund up to $2.6 million on enhancement works involving hard and soft surfaces, landscaping, terracing, low impact car parking, pedestrian areas, paths, lighting, seating and public art work.
These areas brought the preliminary budget for the project set in December 2015 to $6.75 million.
On top of that budget, Council purchased the land itself for $3 million.
As things stand, the first stage of the development involving remediation through the removal of several cubic tonnes of 'fill' material from the site, has been completed, so the area is now fenced off and a small area of "pop up" parking spaces has been established nearby. The contractor's tender for those remediation earthworks was $538,148.
The costs for stage two land stabilisations and general beautification will be determined as part of tender negotiations.