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The New South Wales government has today given the green light to a $750million rebuild of the iconic Sydney Fish Market.

Construction work on the new market, next to the current site in Blackwattle Bay, will start in just eight weeks and is due for completion in 2024.

The project will provide 700 construction jobs and the market will enable around 700 ongoing jobs when it's up and running. 

The New South Wales government has today given the green light to a $750million rebuild of the iconic Sydney Fish Market. Pictured: What the completed structure will look like in 2024

Construction work on the new market, next to the current site in Blackwattle Bay, will start in just eight weeks and is due for completion in 2024. Pictured: The inside space

The new site will include shops, restaurants and bars, wholesale and retail markets, a working warf, a redeveloped promenade that will be open 24 hours a day, and better access from Wentworth Park.  

The market has been designed by Danish architect 3XN, in association with Sydney firms BVN and Aspect Studios.

Asked why an Aussie firm was not given the contract, Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the Danish company came up with the best design. 

Mr Stokes said the Sydney Fish Market was approved through the Government's new Planning System Acceleration Program that is fast-tracking planning assessments to keep people in jobs and the economy moving.

'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,' he said.

'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. 

'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.'

Early works for the Sydney Fish Markets are expected to commence within the next eight weeks, with a stage one contract to be awarded shortly. 

The project will provide 700 construction jobs and the market will enable around 700 ongoing jobs when it's up and running. Pictured: What the completed structure will look like in 2024

The new site will include shops, restaurants and bars, wholesale and retail markets, a working warf, a redeveloped promenade that will be open 24 hours a day, and better access from Wentworth Park. Pictured: What the structure will look like in 2024

The market has been designed by Danish architect 3XN, in association with Sydney firms BVN and Aspect Studios. Pictured: What the completed structure will look like in 2024

A tender process is also underway for the major construction phase, which is expected to start in early 2021.

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism, and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres said the development will help NSW's economy rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

'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,' Mr Ayres said. 

With three million visitors per year, the market attracts more visitors than the Great Barrier Reef - and this figure is expected to double to six million in ten years. 

The Sydney Fish Market is the biggest in the fish market in the southern hemisphere, with $120million worth of fish trade each year.

Around 86 per cent of the fish sold comes from regional New South Wales. 

With three million visitors per year, the market attracts more visitors than the Great Barrier Reef - and this figure is expected to double to six million in ten years. Pictured: What the completed structure will look like in 2024

The Sydney Fish Market is the biggest in the fish market in the southern hemisphere, with $120million worth of fish trade each year. Pictured: What the completed structure will look like in 2024