Sydney Fish Market’s Christmas opening in doubt after sneak peek tour

Sydney’s spectacular new fish market has been revealed in an exclusive preview, but the new $836m facility’s opening date remains a mystery.

Fit-outs and internal work are still under way at the new fish market, with no concrete finish date in sight.

The dice have been rolled on Sydney’s new fish market after it was unveiled without an opening date on the table, leaving NSW Premier Chris Minns in the deep end if the trouble-plagued project fails to open by Christmas.

Business leaders, politicians and investors were taken behind the scenes for an “exclusive preview” of the $836 million site at Blackwattle Bay on Thursday as construction “nears completion”.

But despite a promise to “hand over the keys” to the Sydney Fish Market in mid-November, neither the government nor the operator could say when the attraction would open for business.

Even a long-running plan to open by Christmas to capitalise on the annual 36-hour seafood marathon was waved off, with plenty of work yet to be done on the internal build and fit-outs.

Mr Minns defended the decision to keep an opening date under wraps, instead saying the preview aimed to “give an update to the people that are paying the bills”.

“So much of what the government does is behind wrought-iron fences and taxpayers need to know where their money’s going, how the progress is going and when it will be completed,” Mr Minns said.

“(The builders) are hauling arse in there at the moment.

The preview tours were run on Thursday as the market ‘nears completion’.

Chris Minns, on the steps of the new site, says it will undoubtedly be the best fish market in the world.

“It hasn’t been an easy build, but if you look at the build of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge and other iconic projects for Sydney, none of them were easy to complete.

“And if it’s worth doing it’s often very difficult to do, but I’m glad it’s nearly completed.

“It will undoubtedly be the best fish market in the world.’’

The comments come as the government eyes the final hurdle for the fish market after years of delays, cost blowouts and disputes with the more than 40 retailers moving to the new site.

These include concerns previously revealed by The Telegraph that tenants were behind schedule and would not be ready for the holiday rush with just weeks to adjust by the time they move in.

Sydney Fish Market said customers will be able to buy seafood at Christmas – but could not say whether it would be from the old or new site.

The project has been plagued by delays and cost blowouts.

However, Sydney Fish Market chief executive officer Daniel Jarosch said tenant disputes had “no bearing whatsoever” on the opening date.

Instead, Mr Jarosch said he was “confident” Sydneysiders would be able to buy prawns for Christmas – but would not say whether it would be at the old site or the shiny new one next door.

“I’m not confirming anything today to be fair and I think we’re not going to share a date today, but you won’t be disappointed, we’re going to make an announcement imminently,” Mr Jarosch said.

“(There are) no issues holding us up whatsoever … We just want to have the right number of retailers (open) at the right time to make it a success.”

An anonymous tenant raised doubts about whether “many, if any retailers will be ready by Christmas” and suggested there were “all sorts of problems” that still needed to be worked through, as construction barriers line the inside of the site.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, who missed out on an invitation to the preview, said the Minns government had “no record of delivering any infrastructure that wasn’t planned, funded and started by the NSW Liberals and Nationals”.