Sydney Fish Market $750M Redevelopment Can Help Provide 1400 Jobs

The rebuilding of the iconic Sydney Fish Market has officially been green lit by the New South Wales government.

Seated next to the current site in Blackwattle Bay foreshore in Pyrmont, construction work on the new market is reportedly worth $750 million, and is slated to start in just eight weeks, Daily Mail reported.

The Sydney Fish Market, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is lauded as the biggest in the southern hemisphere, with over $120 million worth of fish trade annually. The market is also dubbed as the third largest in the overall fish market ranking across the globe.

Providing a better access from Wentworth Park, the new market site will feature a plethora of shops, wholesale and retail markets, restaurants and bars, as well as a working wharf. A refurbished 24-hour promenade within the vicinity, is also touted as one of its highlights.

“This is the 33rd project determined through the new accelerated assessment program, introduced as part of the NSW Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said in a statement.

“Building the new Sydney Fish Market at the head of Blackwattle Bay is an incredible opportunity to transform an under-utilised area into a vibrant, accessible and attractive waterfront precinct.”

Teaming with Sydney firms BVN and Aspect Studios, designs for the market’s reconstruction was curated by Danish architectural company, 3XN. With regards to why this was opted for instead of an Australian firm, Stokes revealed that the Danish architectural practice came up with the best design layout.

“The approved design also provides more than 4,700 square metres of new public open space and paves the way for a future shared pedestrian and cycle path that will provide waterfront access all the way to Woolloomooloo,” Stokes said.

Early reconstruction of the Sydney Fish Market is expected to ensue within the next eight weeks, along with a stage one contract, Daily Mail reported. The now-greenlit project is due for completion by 2024.

Although the updated inclusions for the Sydney Fish Market doesn’t shy away from its original form, the redevelopment is said to help keep people in jobs, eventually posing as an economic watershed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stuart Ayres, Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, said that the project will help Australia’s economy bounce back from the global coronavirus crisis.

“This is a great development for the tourism, construction and hospitality industries of NSW, with hundreds of new jobs to be created in this vibrant new precinct,” Ayres said.

NSW’s recent approval of the Sydney Fish Market redevelopment will pave way for 700 construction jobs as well as 700 (a total of 1400) ongoing jobs once the market is officially ready to operate.