The 200m-long roof on the Sydney Fish Market has been completed, with government figures hailing its floating canopy design as "unique", "spectacular" and the building's "crowning glory".
Approximately six million people a year are expected to stroll through the waterfront market, located not far from the city centre, up from three million a year in 2018 for the facility it replaces.
Around a third of visitors have historically been international, with the market previously saying it received half of all Chinese visitors to Sydney.
The new market - a stone's throw from the old site on Blackwattle Bay - was initially slated to open in 2023 but a myriad of delays have pushed that date back to November.
It was also initially unveiled as a $250 million government investment, but the costs of the project have at least tripled since it was announced in 2017.
Sydney Fish Market chair Craig Davison was quizzed on Tuesday about reports his organisation is set to post another significant financial loss, prompting questions the business might not be solvent by the time the market opens.
The company posted a $6.3 million loss in 2022/23 and is yet to post its 2023/24 financial statements.
"The loss is actually a write down … we have impaired a number of assets that won't come with us when we move over to the new site," Mr Davison said.
"And I can say that throughout 2024 and in 2025 we continue to be cash-flow positive, which is an exciting thing for us as we transition to a once-in-a-generation new building."
Around half of the around 40 tenants at the former site have signed leases for the new premises, Mr Davison said, although many have been holding out citing concerns about the new building and its ongoing maintenance costs.
The rebuilt market is due to be leased to the company, which is part-owned by its existing tenants, by the state government on peppercorn rent.
Before the relocation, the Sydney Fish Market was described as "sad" by the community and political leaders.
The overhaul will also transform the area, delivering 6000sq/m of public space in the broader precinct, the government said.
Announcing the costs had tripled to $750 million in 2019, then-premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Pyrmont market was the second most-visited attraction in Sydney behind the Opera House.
Premier Chris Minns said the market would be "one of the best and greatest experiences of Sydney".
"It will rank alongside Bondi Beach, the Manly ferry, The Rocks, Barangaroo ... and they're expecting six million people a year to use it," he said.
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