The pop-up shipping container village has lain dormant since its last tenant shut its doors at the end of April.

But by the end of this year, the containers will be moved to the mountain-biking mecca to house a cafe and possibly a bike hire and maintenance business too.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said moving the village to Stromlo would be a temporary way to meet the need for retail in the park.

"Westside was designed to be able to be relocated to areas across the city where there is a temporary gap in space for retail and hospitality trade such as Stromlo Forest Park which attracts thousands of visitors every week," Mr Barr said.

"The Stromlo Forest Park masterplan includes retail facilities in the precinct, as well as playing fields and a gondola operating from the car park to the peak of Mount Stromlo.

"The government will be providing these investments over the coming years, with the Westside structure providing temporary facilities until these investments are made."

The village was built at West Basin in 2014 as a way to bring people to the area ahead of the City to the Lake development.

Land Development Agency head David Dawes said the government had spent about $1.9 million on building and operating the village.

But from the start the project was beset with problems and in 2015, the ACT Land Development Agency took over amid disputes about non-payment of sub-contractors and low visitor numbers.

National Capital Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow called the container village a "damp squib" in 2015 and last year they told the government it had to be dismantled by November 19.

Tenants at the village had until April 30 to vacate but most closed earlier.

Damn Fine Roasters was the last vendor at the site. Its owner also managed the bike hire business, bought by the ACT government in 2015, before both businesses shut down at the end of April.

The government will advertise for expressions of interest to operate businesses at the site.

Structural engineer Ken Murtagh pleaded with the government in March not to waste the structure and suggested country towns or race courses.

No other containers other than those being relocated will be able to set up shop there.

The containers that housed the Aviary Bar will be used for the cafe, although they will be configured on the ground rather than elevated like they are at West Basin.

Two of the containers in the tower structure are privately owned and will be returned to their owners during the deconstruction and removal process, Mr Barr said.

Government-owned containers not needed at Stromlo will be used by other parts of government for storage.

Meanwhile the government signalled it would forge ahead with its vision for West Basin in Tuesday's budget.

Mr Barr announced $38 million to reclaim 4.1 hectares of Lake Burley Griffin with an extra 500 metres of boardwalk running along the outside of it.