Amsterdam officials are poised to give the green light to a controversial cable car crossing over the IJ waterway, the Parool reported on Monday.

The paper said various sources indicated the city’s three-party coalition – D66, GroenLinks and the PvdA – discussed the project during their ongoing budget talks and that they will give the project the go ahead.

The crossing would stretch from the westen port area where up to 70,000 new homes are due to be built to Noord. Stichting IJbaan says the crossing would not be a tourist attraction, but a serious alternative to the ferry network, capable of carrying 5,500 people per hour.

The project, first launched in 2014, is the brainchild of civil engineers Bas Dekker and Willem Wessels who have set up a foundation Stichting IJbaan to promote their plan.

The initiative will have to be entirely privately funded because the city is not making any money available, the Parool said. Earlier this month, the Parool reported that the city is poised to put €100 million into building a cycle bridge over the IJ in the east of the city.

Amsterdam’s budget will be presented to city councillors on Thursday.