The NSW Government is delivering an authentic new Sydney Fish Market which will return inaccessible parts of the harbour foreshore to the community. 

What is the project delivering?

Building the new Sydney Fish Market at the head of Blackwattle Bay will:

• create around 700 jobs during construction and support 700 jobs once operational
• deliver a waterfront promenade, a ferry wharf and more than 6,000 square metres of new public open space
• include a variety of fishmongers, restaurants, cafes, bars and specialty food retailers in a market hall setting
• retain its authentic experience and strengthen its position as one of Australia’s leading tourist destinations
• be a catalyst for economic growth, with visitor numbers to the area set to double in the next 10 years.

  

Design features of the new Sydney Fish Market 

World renowned Danish architects 3XN have worked with Sydney firms BVN and Aspect Studios with the specific goal of creating more than just a fish market. They have worked to create a major cultural facility that enhances the existing authentic market operations while providing generous public amenity to unlock the waterfront for all to enjoy. 

Click to enlarge the following image of the cross section of the new building viewed from the east.

Waterfront promenade  

The project will deliver an extended foreshore promenade, connecting the existing Glebe foreshore promenade to Pyrmont.  

The amphitheatre staircases and the foreshore promenade wrap over the operational wharf, allowing people to watch the authentic operations of the fish market with boats coming in and fishers unloading their catch of the day. 

 

An authentic working fish market 

New wharfs will be built to allow fishers to unload their catch of the day and berth their vessels. The design of the wharf has been developed through extensive consultation with local rowing clubs, dragon boaters and representatives from the fishing fleet.  

The building's design provides visual connections between the public areas, wholesale market and wharf operations to connect the public with an authentic fish market experience.  

 

Public market hall 

The new Sydney Fish Market will be the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, supporting professional fishers and coastal fishing towns from up and down the NSW coast. It will include a variety of fishmongers, restaurants, cafes, bars, and specialty food retailers in a market hall setting. 

The new building will consist of:  

• Basement level car parking for around 400 cars 
• ground floor level auction hall, wholesale operations, fishing vessel wharves and loading dock 
• first floor market hall consisting of restaurants, food retailers and fresh seafood sales 
• mezzanine level office space, restaurant, bar and the popular Sydney Seafood School.  

 

Creating new public space in Blackwattle Bay 

The new Sydney Fish Market creates an exciting opportunity to transform currently inaccessible harbourfront land and deliver a variety of new public spaces. This will allow people to access the head of Blackwattle Bay for the first time since industrial uses took over in the 19th century. 

More than 6000 square metres of new public space will include: 

• The urban park - located to the east of the new Sydney Fish Market, will provide a cool, green respite space. The design prioritises comfort through extensive planting, shade trees, seating and large garden ‘rooms’. The Urban Park connects to the new Sydney Fish Market via large amphitheatre staircases. Together this space will support a variety of small to medium public events including market stalls, smaller concerts and pop-up events. 
• Waterfront promenade - the project will deliver an extended foreshore promenade, connecting the existing Glebe foreshore promenade to Pyrmont. This will be the first time in almost 200 years. The harbour promenade will also include places to sit, socialise and provide necessary infrastructure towards achieving Sydney’s goals of being a walkable city. 
• The local plaza - located to the west of the building, will provide a seamless transition between the existing Glebe Foreshore Walk and the new Sydney Fish Market. It will feature trees, seats and a grassed area for people to enjoy. 
• Bridge Road promenade - The Bridge Road footpath will be rejuvenated and widened to provide a new green boulevard. Extensive planting beds and low and dense plants will provide a safe buffer to separate vehicles from pedestrians and cyclists and also deliver environmental benefits including stormwater biofiltration. 

 

Bridge Road upgrade 

Bridge Road will be raised by approximately one metre between its intersections with Wattle Street and Wentworth Park Road. This has a number of benefits:  

• The ground floor of the development and surrounding public domain would be similar to the level of Wentworth Park providing visual integration with the park.  
• Assist in managing storm water around the site. 

• Provide for localised widening of Bridge Road to provide an improved and widened footpath area, a drop-off area, shared cycle path, landscaping, a central median and compliant lane dimensions.  
• The widened frontage to Bridge Road provides enhanced visual connection to Wentworth Park, bus drop-off, cycleway and pedestrian movement, activated street frontage with views of the workings of the fish market and landscaping. 

 

Upcoming work lookahead

Click to enlarge the following image.

The new Sydney Fish Market is a highly complex project being built under and over Blackwattle Bay. View the latest work updates. 

Piling work will continue over the next few months. We will regularly update the website with a snapshot of progress.

View the marine piling fact sheet

 

The following works are taking place over the coming months: 

• Bridge Road night works - Out of hours works will be undertaken to install a temporary substation kiosk and associated cabling works that will provide power for the construction site. Read more  
• Continuation of shoring wall construction - Land-based piling has commenced to prepare the site for construction of the new structure. 
• Coffer dam commencement - The installation of sheet piles for the coffer dam works has started. The coffer dam will enable the site to be dewatered so that the basement can be constructed.   
• Sediment profiling works to re-commence in December 
• Marine piling – The project has reached a significant milestone with the commencement of the main marine piling works. Over 400 piles will be installed to support the new Sydney Fish Market building structure, wharfs and adjacent promenade.  

View current or upcoming night works.

 

Recently completed works 

• Completion of SFM wharf works - Works at the current Sydney Fish Market to upgrade the timber wharf and relocate fishing trawlers and the public pontoon to the timber wharf. 

• Pile removal has been completed with nearly 800 existing piles removed from the seabed. 

 

Work hours 

Our standard approved working hours are 7am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday and 7:30am to 3:30pm on Saturday. 

Respite is the period within the working day where noisy activities such as rock breaking, and rock hammering, will not be carried out in order to provide a break from the noise impacts. Noisy activities will occur between: 

• Monday to Friday 9:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm and 5:00pm 

• Saturday 9:00am to 12:00pm. 

Out of hours work will be required from time to time. To receive notifications by email, please register here.  

 

Managing construction noise and vibration 

Some construction activities are inherently noisy and generate vibration which cannot be avoided. It is important that noise management strategies are implemented to not only reduce impact to the community, but also to our workers who are often working at the source of the noise/vibration where it is most impactful. 

A Construction Noise and Vibration Management Plan has been prepared to understand potential noise and vibration impacts during construction. It identifies measures to implement to reduce and manage potential noise and vibration impacts.  

Noise and vibration monitoring is occurring on site in line with the project’s Infrastructure Approval. 

 

Building over water – the building methods  

The new Sydney Fish Market is a highly complex project being built under and over Blackwattle Bay. The key activities occurring on site to start the build include installing marine piles for the building structure, and installing a coffer dam to enable dewatering at a later stage to build the basement. 

This page will be updated as the project progresses. 

 

Marine piling 

The new Sydney Fish market is being constructed over water and requires over 400 piles to support the new building structure, wharfs and adjacent promenade. Marine piling is expected to continue until late 2022. The marine piling process is illustrated in the following diagrams (click to enlarge): 

View the marine piling fact sheet

Cofferdam construction 

The cofferdam is a series of interlinked steel sheets installed around the perimeter of the new building creating a swimming pool type structure. Once complete the cofferdam will be around 20,000 square meters in area.  Once all the marine piles for the building have been installed, the cofferdam will be dewatered to approximately 4.5-5m under the mean tide level. 

The cofferdam will be a sheet and tube system installed using Giken Japanese technology. The Giken is often referred to as the ‘silent plier’ because it is typically quieter than most of the typical construction activities occurring on site. 

Sheets will be installed commencing from land working out towards the water, using a press-in method. Silent Pilers utilise their own weight and reaction against already installed piles to push sheets into the ground to required depths.  

Typically, piles are installed utilising vibratory hammers which are considerably louder than a press-in method due to the vibration of steel on steel as opposed to steel sliding against each other. 

Cofferdam location around the basement

Environmental initiatives 

This page will continue to be updated with environmental initiatives being implemented on the project throughout construction. 

 

Seabin Project  

As part of the project’s commitment to cleaning up the bay, Seabins will be used around the site of the new Sydney Fish Market in Blackwattle Bay. Seabins are essentially garbage bins for the ocean with each unit connected to a water pump capable of drawing water from up to 50 metres away. The bins filter water and capture debris (including microplastics, plastic fibres, oil and more) in a catch bag. The bins are emptied by a Seabin environmental technician each day. In every 12-month period, the five seabins at the site of the new Sydney Fish Market will:  

• Capture an estimated 7.5 tonnes of marine litter, which is equivalent to 188 wheelie bins. 
• Filter approximately 1.075 billion litres of water, capturing oil, fuel, micro plastics and plastic fibre. 

How the Seabin collects plastics and debris from the ocean (Source: The Seabin Project)

  

Keep in touch

We will continue to keep the community informed throughout the construction period with regular notifications being distributed to residents and frequent updates published here on our website.

View our latest:

• Quarterly project update
• Construction notification
• Weekly oversize, overmass deliveries and out of hours works notifications. See the latest notice.

 

What is planned for the Blackwattle Bay precinct?

The NSW Government is revitalising Blackwattle Bay to deliver an authentic, vibrant and sustainable place connected to Sydney Harbour. View the Blackwattle Bay project page for more information.

 

Contact the team

• Email nsfm.community@multiplex.global
• Call 1800 271 114
• Subscribe to our eNews mailing list
• Register your interest to bid for the supply of goods and services