The T-shaped wharf at Boiler Point would extend out from the end of Port Otago's recently extended multipurpose wharf, allowing anglers to drop lines into 5m-deep water close to the shipping channel.
Piles for the fishing wharf were driven in the middle of last year, at the same time as those for the wider expansion of the multipurpose wharf, but the fishing wharf had then been redesigned earlier this year.
Changes included switching from an all-steel structure with a 100-year lifespan to one having a steel frame on wooden piles and a recycled wood deck, which has a 65-year lifespan, Mr Winders said at the time.
The changes were made after tenders for the project came back "significantly over" the fishing wharf's $1 million budget, and it was hoped then the revised structure would be finished by August.
Yesterday, Mr Winders said dates had again slipped slightly, but he now expected the structure would be open in September or October.
The piles had been filled with concrete last month, and steel frame sections were part-way through being prefabricated off-site.
The structure would then be installed from the water by barge and floating crane and would "start to take shape quite quickly", he said.
Historic plaques and other monuments marking the history of the area would be added as part of an upgrade of the access track over a year.
The project would improve access to the wharf for people with mobility issues, and offer close-up views of cruise ships and other big vessels arriving and departing, he said.
