A private consortium is proposing to develop a cable car service along the Liffey Quays in Dublin, running between Heuston Station and Docklands.
The cable cars would transport sightseers at heights approaching 80 metres (264ft) above the river from the Guinness Brewery near Heuston to a terminal located near the planned national conference centre at Spencer Dock.
Aimed primarily at the tourism market, the cable cars would give people a birds-eye view of many of Dublin's landmarks, including the Custom House, the Four Courts, St James' Gate Brewery and the National Museum at Collins Barracks.
Each of the four cable cars would have capacity for 25 people and the duration of a trip in either direction would be around 20 minutes.
It is anticipated that most passengers would travel by cable car one-way and make their return by other means.
Currently the ticket price is estimated at €15, which the promoters say compares "very favourably" to other attractions such as the London Eye which costs over €17 per visit.
The €52 million project, which is headed by Dublin property developer Barry Boland, would involve erecting four giant steel towers - two of them significantly taller than Liberty Hall and the other two almost as high - along the three kilometre route.
The towers, designed by architects McGarry Ní Éanaigh and engineers Roughan O'Donovan, would be located at Watling Street bridge, Wood Quay, Marlborough Street and Custom House Quay. The longest span between them would be 930 metres.
"The choice was between a large number of small towers or a small number of high towers," Mr Boland said. In opting for the latter, the height of the towers would range between 55 and 80 metres - with the tallest two being in the middle of the route.
He also told The Irish Times that the "fully engineered, fully costed and fully funded" scheme would include two new pedestrian bridges across the Liffey - one linking Marlborough Street with Hawkins Street and the other from Wood Quay to Ormond Quay.
He said senior officials of Dublin City Council, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and Guinness had all indicated "enthusiastic support" for the cable car project and negotiations have been initiated to take it to the planning application stage.
"It's a very strong idea that would make new connections in the city," chief city planner Dick Gleeson said yesterday. "We're about to commence a framework plan for the Liffey and this would be a very dynamic element within a reinvigorated river corridor."
He said the proposal would be subject to an environmental impact statement as part of a planning application, and details also had to be finalised about landings for the towers, which he described as "amazingly light" despite their huge scale.
Assuming that the results are positive, Mr Boland said a planning application would be made in four months. If permission is granted, the project would be completed in four years and would remain in the hands of the private operators thereafter.