And the government's promise to deliver affordable housing  as part of the urban renewal project is under question  after it quietly abandoned social housing plans and as property prices skyrocket.

Affordability specialist Dr Judith Stubbs, a former government housing adviser, has called for 20 per cent of new housing to be set aside to ensure lower-income Melburnians are able to live in the precinct.

"Otherwise, as research in Melbourne and Fishermans Bend indicates, there would be no housing available that would be affordable for very low and low-income groups to buy or rent," she said.

The Sunday Age can reveal that in early 2012 the state's development agency, Places Victoria, proposed that the government buy a series of properties in Fishermans Bend for future public use.

The objective was to secure sites before the precinct was rezoned, which was expected to drive up prices.

The 250-hectare industrial area sprawling from South Melbourne to Port Melbourne has been envisioned by the government as a new suburb that could house 80,000 people over the next 40 years.

Places Victoria spent more than $2 million researching the area, including commissioning reports on land acquisition, housing affordability, employment, soil conditions and developer contributions.

It proposed 10 properties be bought  to be used as parks, community facilities or potential housing development, but  the call was dismissed by planning department advisers determined to follow a non-interventionist, market-led strategy for developing Fishermans Bend.

In July 2012, Mr Guy rezoned the entire 250 hectares of industrial land to "capital city" – the same zoning that applies to the CBD – opening the way for high-rise residential and commercial development.

The decision was made despite the government not having yet completed a master plan for the precinct.

The move triggered frenzied speculation and land sales.

Real estate agent Mark Wizel, of CBRE, estimated the value of Fishermans Bend had skyrocketed from $3.7billion before the rezoning to as much as $15 billion.

For sites where developers have won planning approval for high-rise towers the increase has been even greater.

Mr Wizel said the value of the properties on Places Victoria's list of preferred acquisitions had soared more than 300 per cent since the rezoning.

Recent investment in Fishermans Bend has come from Chinese developers, and their ability to outbid locals has further fuelled the Fishermans Bend market. Mr Wizel said mainland Chinese developers, in particular, seemed to have an "instant affinity" with the precinct.

"Many of the groups we have introduced sites to tell us that it reminds them of parts of China where they have successfully developed large-scale projects out of former industrial and warehouse precincts."

Early visions for the precinct, compiled by Places Victoria, had "affordable to low and moderate income households" and developer contributions for social housing. Before the rezoning, Mr Guy had also publicly pledged that Fishermans Bend would focus on providing more affordable housing.

But by the time the government released its Fishermans Bend strategic planning framework in mid-2014, affordable housing had been sidelined. The official strategy suggested developers only "should consider" contributing towards that goal.

Property, planning and housing experts questioned Mr Guy's handling of Fishermans Bend, especially the rezoning decision.

"The blanket rezoning gave developers large profits without requiring anything to be given back to the community, especially contributions to create affordable housing in the area,"   Dr  Stubbs said.

Dr Stubbs, who  wrote one of the reports commissioned by Places Victoria, said it was likely only small bedsits and one-bedroom apartments would be affordable to people on moderate incomes - "and then only to those at the upper end of that income band".

Urban design architect Rob McGauran, who has advised clients on Fishermans Bend including the Property Council of Victoria, said the way the area had been rezoned was unfortunate.

"That benefit should have been captured for all Victoria," he said.

Mr Guy did not respond to questions about the rezoning in 2012 of the area and whether he was aware of Places Victoria's proposed list of sites for purchase.

On affordability, Mr Guy said that the long-term housing supply created through rezoning of land for residential development would "maintain central Melbourne's affordability over a long period".

He said developer contributions of $15,900 for each approved dwelling would pay for local infrastructure.

New streets and laneways also had to be provided by developers at no cost to government, he said, along with a mandatory public open space contributions of  8 per cent of site areas.