The Health Service Executive has said the successful tender for a drug injection centre is expected to be announced in February.
The authority has missed three self-imposed deadlines so far - the end of last November, end of December and end of January - to reveal the location of the new facility.
The plan suffered a setback when Dublin City Council ruled that the new operators will have to apply for planning permission.
Three locations mentioned were the MQI premises on Merchants Quay, Ana Liffey on Middle Abbey Street and the National Drug Treatment Centre on Pearse Street.
The ruling on planning permission followed a submission from a group called the Dublin Business Alliance, which mainly represents pubs and restaurants in the city centre.
A spokesperson for the HSE said the procurement process is in its "final stages".
"This is a technical process and while we acknowledge that previous deadlines have been extended, it is now expected to be completed in February," they said.
