Wollongong Harbour can look picture-postcard perfect.

But the first steps have already been taken behind closed doors to give the city's harbour precinct a makeover that could go well beyond simple cosmetic surgery.

Firmly in the NSW Government's sights is a new look that will turn the harbour into a tourist hub with all the trappings of the 21st century - shops, cafes and restaurants - to complement a nearby marina serving a mixture of recreational and commercial craft.

Just how grand a plan remains a mystery. Minister for Lands Tony Kelly remains tight-lipped.

The minister is considering expressions of interest from six applicants keen to promote their concept for the area, which takes in the Continental Pool, Flagstaff Hill and Brighton Beach.

Those concepts could be anything from a million-dollar facelift to a billion-dollar redevelopment.

The extent to which the harbour could be transformed is revealed in the Department of Lands' expressions of interest document, which lists seven separate precincts.

They include a commercial area and a large plaza on the northern side of Belmore Basin, with commercial and marine retail space, restructured moorings where the fishing fleet is now berthed and what appears to be a northern extension of the harbour itself past the Continental Pool, including reclaimed land and floating jetties.

Among the most controversial aspects is Flagstaff Hill, which is earmarked for a visitors centre and potentially a larger commercial or tourist development on the reserve itself.

Former lord mayor Alex Darling told the Mercury in the days before Wollongong City Council's sacking, that it was "time to attack Flagstaff Hill and attack the harbour".

His opinion the area was "crying out for development" helped to revive rumours of Macquarie Bank's possible interest in a marina development at the harbour.

Mr Kelly said in Parliament last week the six submissions would be assessed over coming weeks, with a view to developing a short list of applicants, who would then be invited to submit detailed proposals.

An evaluation panel of four people - a probity officer, two Department of Lands staff and one senior Wollongong City Council officer - would review the expressions of interest and make a recommendation to the Department of Lands for approval.

Once a preferred tenderer was selected the proposal would then be placed on public exhibition, as part of the planning approval process.

The Belmore Basin site would be leased to a private consortium or business and money collected given to Wollongong City Council.

A spokesman for Mr Kelly said it was standard business practice to conduct an expressions-of-interest process in-confidence.

The entire process would be overseen by an independent probity adviser, he said.

"As the sites in question are all Crown land, any decisions regarding their future will ultimately rest with me," Mr Kelly said.

Belmore Basin is said to anchor the Blue Mile strip and Wollongong City Council endorsed a $1.8 million revitalisation package for the area last October.

However, while the NSW Government is moving forward with its harbour plans, the future of the $48 million Blue Mile master plan for Wollongong is less clear.

When asked this week if the Blue Mile was under a cloud, the council's general manager David Farmer said there was a need to review all council's projects.

"We've got a very large schedule of projects and I'll need to run everything by the administrators and look at our financial capacity to be able to deliver those projects," Mr Farmer said.