Sydney Fish Market to be relocated in bid to double visitor numbers

The NSW Government has unveiled plans for a significant redesign of Blackwattle Bay, that will include the relocation of the Sydney Fish Market and new residential and commercial development.

The $250 million transformation, announced on Sunday by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, would see the fish market moved along the Sydney Harbour shoreline to a new location backing onto Wentworth Park.

The new fish market will be built on a site currently occupied by building contractors while its current site would be redeveloped for high-rise apartments and office space.

Premier Berejiklian said she hoped new use of the current site would pay for its redevelopment, stating “the Sydney Fish Market is an iconic part of our city but there's no doubt it needs a huge makeover.

"I know, with a makeover, there will be even more tourists and even more locals enjoying this."

Currently the Sydney Fish Market draws about three million visitors a year.

Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd General Manager Bryan Skepper said the development would create "the world's best fish market" and absorb expanding visitor numbers.

Skepper told the Sydney Morning Herald “at the moment we get three million visitors a year to the site and our modelling predicts that could go to six million.”

Standing on its current site since 1966, the Sydney Fish Market has been the subject of speculation for several years, with many investors reportedly interested in developing it.

The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) Chief Executive Margy Osmond added “Sydney’s world-famous harbour deserves a world-class fish market.

“While the Sydney Fish Market is already the largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and an institution for many Sydneysiders, there is no doubt it is time for an upgrade.”

UrbanGrowth NSW is expected to have a draft design released to the public later in the year with construction expected to start in 2018.

Images: Artist's impression from Copenhagen-based 3XN Architects of the new building that will house the new Sydney Fish Market.   

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