IOC Athletes' Commission members are expected to hold discussions on the issue on September 16 in the South American country.

The suggestion is that the competition could be hosted by the Foz do Iguassu course, near the world-famous Iguaçu Falls, to save costs and reduce the Olympic and Paralympic project's construction burden.

Foz do Iguassu hosted the 2007 Canoe Slalom World Championships.

Word of the Commission's plans came as International Canoe Federation (ICF) President, José Perurena López, spoke out strongly against the proposal - first revealed on insidethegames - as the ICF announced that it too would send experts to Rio to "carry out a comprehensive cost and design analysis".

The ICF said that the Foz do Iguassu counter-proposal was suggested "following fears that the construction costs of the canoe slalom course would be between $30 million and $70 million".

The body emphasised that it had "proven success of delivering Olympic-quality venues at significantly less cost than the quoted figures".

Perurena described news of the possible move as "disappointing" and claimed that it "threatens to marginalise our athletes, the competition and the future of canoe slalom in Brazil".

Rio, he said, "lends itself perfectly to our sport.

"With a population of 6.3 million it provides a captive audience that our sport needs to drive participation across South America and deliver tomorrow's champions.

"However, we remain positive that we can deliver an Olympic-quality venue in Rio, on budget and on time."

Foz do Iguassu hosted the 2007 Canoe Slalom World Championships

The ICF now proposes to carry out a complete feasibility study of the proposed Rio venue in the Deodoro Zone considering both the initial construction costs and post-Games legacy opportunities.

"The outcomes of this study will be combined with a further report on the overlay costs of relocating the event to the Foz do Iguassu course.

"The IOC, Rio 2016 and the ICF will then consider the report with a decision on the venue to be reached by the end of 2013."

The brouhaha over canoe-slalom comes against a backdrop of mounting IOC concerns over Rio's rate of progress.

IOC President Jacques Rogge observed rather pointedly this week that "time is passing very quickly".

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