Docklands population to boom as €7bn transformation hits halfway mark

DUBLIN'S docklands area, once a rundown wasteland, is half-way through its €7 billion masterplan to transform it into a buzzing city heartland.

Population in the region is set to almost treble to 45,500 by 2012 and a third of Dublin's three million annual tourists are expected to visit the quarter.

A multi-million euro investment plan is creating up to 40,000 new jobs and 11,000 new houses and apartments.