Latest news with #SydneyFishMarket
Sky News AU
17-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
New Sydney Fish Market tenants told precinct to open in summer ahead of busy holiday period
The dozens of tenants set to occupy the newly built Sydney Fish Market have been advised to prepare for an opening date within months - ahead of a busy holiday period. The $836 million development in Sydney's Pyrmont is set to replace and expand upon the adjacent current fish market - already the largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere - but question marks have lingered around when doors will open on the new precinct throughout its construction. However, The Daily Telegraph on Thursday reported tenants of the new market have now been told to be ready for an opening by the first week of December. It means tenants will start selling at the new centre within weeks of the fish market's annual 36-hour Seafood Marathon, which last year drew a crowd of over 100,000 customers. The development had previously been scheduled to welcome the public in 2024. According to The Daily Telegraph, 24 tenants organised by the New South Wales government will be prepared to open by early December, while only a few of the existing tenants from the current market have been secured to open on that date. An industry insider told the publication they thought opening in the first week of December was 'going to be a s**t show'. 'It's already chaos during Christmas at the current site,' they said. 'All these guys are expected to organise themselves in (three) weeks to do a Christmas sale – it will be a disaster for everyone concerned.' The Sydney Fish Market website says it expects to welcome over six million people every year at its new site, which it labels 'Sydney's most significant harbourside building since the Opera House.' A Sydney Fish Market spokesperson has reportedly said management was working 'closely with tenants to prepare them for an end of year opening". In March, it was reported the company behind the roof on the new fish market, Sharvain Facades, had entered administration as setbacks and cost blowouts plagued sub-contractors working on the development. Construction giant Multiplex is behind the new building and had extended Sharvain Facades a $16 million loan in October. The new fish market initially had a $250 million price tag before costs ballooned out to $836 million. The development's construction timeline was extended by COVID work restrictions, a crane falling over in 2023 and poor weather.
Sydney Morning Herald
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
The cycleway from hell was paved with good intentions. They need to come back
The cycleway from hell was paved with good intentions. In May 2020, months into the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that shook the world, then-transport minister Andrew Constance and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore introduced temporary cycleways to encourage people to move around the city while maintaining safe distances. Unlike mask wearing, state border controls and QR code check-ins, the temporary cycling lanes lingered and are becoming permanent parts of the city. Two have proved especially controversial: the Oxford Street cycleway, where residents have launched legal action against the state government and City of Sydney council; and the Bridge Road route connecting Camperdown to Glebe. Somewhere along the way, the good intentions slipped like a chain off a sprocket. The 1.2-kilometre Bridge Road cycleway that runs from Lyons Road to Taylor Street near the new Sydney Fish Market is now used for about 500 trips a day, and is in a part of the city primed for denser living as the government seeks to address a housing crisis. The problem, as Sydney editor Megan Gorrey reports, is that the temporary cycleway is a dangerous path where riders are forced to merge back into traffic lanes. While the competing needs of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians have long proved divisive, lately the Bridge Road route has succeeded in uniting people in opposition. Residents are not only annoyed at the construction, but have joined cyclists in their concern about safety. Di Anstey, the Bridge Road Friends founder whose advocacy also risks turning permanent, witnesses 'near misses every day' and suggests alternative routes should be considered. Perhaps the most damning comments come from Balmain MP Kobi Shetty, 'an experienced, lifelong cyclist' who uses the route to get to work but is always uneasy. 'I have to be hypervigilant. I wouldn't let my kids near it.' Loading For its part, Transport for NSW said safety would be improved after the upgrade, and it was designed to improve safety for pedestrians, motorists and bike riders. A spokeswoman said the permanent cycleway would also create a more accessible and safer travel option for people riding between the inner west and the city, including to the new Fish Market. It has also promised that additional safety measures, which were suggested in a 2023 audit, had been included in the final design. As it stands, the cycleway is pleasing no one. Motorists have to keep their wits about them as the few riders who brave the path duck in and out of traffic. Residents are being disrupted by roadworks that few are convinced will fix the problem. And cyclists are already voting with their pedals. That only 500 trips a day are being recorded on the route is evidence that many riders are steering clear of it. This is not to say all the cycleways should be torn up. Cyclists deserve space to commute in safety, as all road users do. In a city of endless tunnels, train tracks and toll roads, the inability to solve a 1.2-kilometre problem smells of a lack of will. Maybe good intentions need to return.
The Age
19-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Dubious loan, ‘bully boy' tactics as costs blow out on Sydney Fish Market
Construction giant Multiplex bullied a key subcontractor on the new Sydney Fish Market into signing a dubious loan agreement to ensure that his company finished the job before falling into administration due to extraordinary cost over-runs on the project. Sharvain Facades, which designed and manufactured the scaled roof, went into administration two weeks after the roof was finished in March, its costs on the project having blown out by $32 million. Its collapse followed dozens of client-requested changes to the scope of the project, and two years of delays due to COVID-19 and wet weather, during which time the cost of materials and labour skyrocketed. The Herald can reveal that Multiplex is also embroiled in legal proceedings with the engineering company that made the watertight structure known as a cofferdam that enabled the market to be built over Blackwattle Bay, an operation described as 'a feat of engineering on steroids'. Engineering firm J Steel is suing Multiplex in the NSW Supreme Court for refusing to pay it, withholding $11 million worth of payments under security and taking work out of its hands. Multiplex has counterclaimed that the work was non-compliant and deficient. The payment controversies that have been aired in court represent a fraction of the cost disputes between Multiplex and subcontractors involved on the Sydney Fish Market, and raise questions over whether the building can be completed within its $836 million budget. The Minns government, which inherited the project after the budget had already been increased by $500 million, is determined not to spend a dollar more. Infrastructure NSW said it had funded all approved variations and the project remained on budget. 'Multiplex entered into a fixed-price contract in 2020 with the NSW government on the new Sydney Fish Market project, and as such are expected to deliver within the agreed terms,' a spokesman said.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Dubious loan, ‘bully boy' tactics as costs blow out on Sydney Fish Market
Construction giant Multiplex bullied a key subcontractor on the new Sydney Fish Market into signing a dubious loan agreement to ensure that his company finished the job before falling into administration due to extraordinary cost over-runs on the project. Sharvain Facades, which designed and manufactured the scaled roof, went into administration two weeks after the roof was finished in March, its costs on the project having blown out by $32 million. Its collapse followed dozens of client-requested changes to the scope of the project, and two years of delays due to COVID-19 and wet weather, during which time the cost of materials and labour skyrocketed. The Herald can reveal that Multiplex is also embroiled in legal proceedings with the engineering company that made the watertight structure known as a cofferdam that enabled the market to be built over Blackwattle Bay, an operation described as 'a feat of engineering on steroids'. Engineering firm J Steel is suing Multiplex in the NSW Supreme Court for refusing to pay it, withholding $11 million worth of payments under security and taking work out of its hands. Multiplex has counterclaimed that the work was non-compliant and deficient. The payment controversies that have been aired in court represent a fraction of the cost disputes between Multiplex and subcontractors involved on the Sydney Fish Market, and raise questions over whether the building can be completed within its $836 million budget. The Minns government, which inherited the project after the budget had already been increased by $500 million, is determined not to spend a dollar more. Infrastructure NSW said it had funded all approved variations and the project remained on budget. 'Multiplex entered into a fixed-price contract in 2020 with the NSW government on the new Sydney Fish Market project, and as such are expected to deliver within the agreed terms,' a spokesman said.
Time Out
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
REVEALED: New public art installations for the $836-million Sydney Fish Market
Anticipation for the new and improved Sydney Fish Market has been building up ever since the site's multi-million-dollar makeover was green-lit in 2020, and while it has not all been smooth sailing, the mission to transform it into the largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere is forging on full speed ahead. However, the development is not only looking towards the future, but also paying tribute to the past. A series of art installations have been commissioned for the new precinct, which will honour Blackwattle Bay's First Nations and maritime histories. Visitors to the new Sydney Fish Market will be able to learn about the history of the area through five permanent installations that celebrate the site as a community gathering place. The first three sculptures were revealed today, each created by Aboriginal Australian artists who have designed works which pay respect to the continued presence of local Aboriginal people, and reference traditional cultural practices of the First Nations communities connected to the new Sydney Fish Market site. Grouped under the title Saltwater People Stories, the three installations include 'The Nawi', a depiction of a traditional nawi (fishing canoe) by Bidjigal elder Uncle Steven Russell; 'Birrang Narrami (Star Net)', a traditional woven fishing net by Wiradjuri, Yuin and Gadigal multi-disciplinary artist and master weaver Nadeena Dixon; and 'The Call of Ngura (Country)', with eel-like forms representing the Dreamtime journey of the great Creator Gurangady, by Buruberong and Wumali (Dharug) creative Leanne Tobin. The sculptures, cast in bronze at the North Head Foundry in Manly, will be installed on the eastern and western promenades of the new Sydney Fish Market later this year. Two further installations will sit on the eastern promenade – an interactive water play area for families, and an installation paying homage to the site's industrial history as a working harbour. Placemaking NSW will also host a curated arts and cultural program featuring dance and music. This will take place in the public domain throughout 2026, featuring local artists. First Nations Contemporary Artist, Leanne Tobin said: 'As a First Nations artist, I'm excited to see our culture represented and visibly acknowledged as part of the new Sydney Fish Market. This project is more than a world-class building and fish market. It is an opportunity for us to educate and inform visitors here by weaving our stories and culture into the precinct. 'These installations allow us a way to share our cultural stories and highlight our deep and ancient connection to this land while also creating a shared experience that reflects our heritage for all to enjoy.' Sydney Fish Market is due to house 38 tenants (you'll find a few of the big name venues revealed here), with more than 26,000 square meters of retail, dining and community space across three levels. The new Sydney Fish Market site is slated to open sometime in 2025, the exact date is yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, the current Sydney Fish Market site will continue to remain fully operational.
