The Sydney Fish Market and UrbanGrowthNSW have reached an agreement to develop a new $250m site.

The new fish market will be built alongside the existing one and will replace a concrete batching plant located on the Blackwattle Bay waterfront. The old fish market site will be sold off to help finance the new one. The new market is expected to be twice the size of the current one, with construction completed in 2020.

The current fish market will operate until the new one opens.

Tourism and Transport Forum Australia (TTF) CEO Margy Osmond maintains it’s a positive move for the city.

Osmond said, “The Sydney Fish Market is one of the city’s iconic destinations but there is no doubt that it needs an overhaul to make it shine.

“TTF has been a champion for the redevelopment of the Sydney Fish Market for a number of years and the industry is very pleased to see it progressing to the next stage.

“The $250 million redevelopment of the Sydney Fish Market is a feather in the cap of the NSW Government, which has managed to achieve with this agreement what has eluded many others.

“The Sydney Fish Market has been working hard on redevelopment plans for a number of years and the hard work and patience has finally paid off with this historic agreement for a bigger and better facility.

“The Fish Market attracts more than three million visitors a year and the market is expected to double that to six million –great news for Sydney’s visitor economy with many of those new visitors expected to be international tourists wanting to experience Australia’s fresh seafood.”

Osmond said the redevelopment of the Sydney Fish Market would just be the beginning of an exciting new visitor precinct being rejuvenated around the Bays Precinct.

“The activation of Sydney’s western harbours is going to be a fantastic addition to what Sydney has to offer, not just to locals but also to our growing international visitor market.”