Sixty-two concrete panels will be used to create the 150-metre-long boardwalk, which is expected to be completed by early April.

Its construction on the southern headland signals the start of the controversial transformation of Canberra's West Basin.

A new lakeside park, on which construction was supposed to start in 2015, will also be completed this year.

"The boardwalk, which will be open to public once construction of the adjacent point park is completed later this year, will be an attraction in its own right and will encourage more people to enjoy Lake Burley Griffin," the ACT's urban renewal minister Mick Gentleman said in a statement.

"The boardwalk will create a great space for pedestrians to explore the shore of Lake Burley Griffin. Its generous size allows different types of users to enjoy the environment at their own pace."

However its "generous size" was also the source of public criticism last year.

Opponents of the project said West Basin was "getting an extended concrete hard edge by filling in a substantial area of the basin".

Convener of the Lake Burley Griffin Guardians, Juliet Ramsay, said they would have preferred to have seen a landscaped edge to the lake maintained like on the Menzies Walk, rather than the concrete panels positioned just above the water.

But their real objection to the West Basin project was the extra 500 metres of boardwalk, including an 80 metre extension into the lake, that would be built on.

"I don't think people realise that development will happen," she said.

"At least we'll see what it's like after this 150 metres is completed, it will give us a chance to see what it will look like on the rest of the land. At least it gives us a chance to stop it there."

Construction on the first stage of West Basin will take place from 7am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday. Some work will take place on Saturdays from 7am to 1pm.

Footpath diversions are in place for people to walk, run and cycle around Lake Burley Griffin during the construction period.