Buangkok and Bidadari to get hawker centres this year

SINGAPORE - Two new hawker centres in Bidadari and Buangkok are slated to open in 2023, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor in Parliament on Thursday. 

Buangkok hawker centre will house 38 cooked food stalls and 721 seats, while Woodleigh Village hawker centre will have 39 cooked food stalls and 725 seats.

They are part of a previous plan to build 20 new hawker centres. 

On picking sites for hawker centres, Dr Khor said heartland areas without affordable dining options will be prioritised, so that residents will be served while hawker stalls can avoid excess competition from comparable F&B establishments.

She said: “Even as we build new centres, we need to ensure that there are hawkers and that they can make a decent livelihood.”

On the impact of inflationary pressures on hawker food prices and rentals, she said rentals comprise 9 per cent of operating costs, with manpower and ingredients making up the largest components of operational cost. 

When considering new hawker centres in the Central Business District, she highlighted additional challenges such as “heavy dependence on the working lunch crowd and the lack of residential catchment”. 

In 2022, four new hawker centres were opened in Senja, Bukit Canberra, Fernvale and Punggol.

Apart from the new hawker centres, the Jurong West hawker centre has been reconfigured and should reopen in the third quarter of 2023.

Repairs and Redecoration, or R&R works, were also completed at 15 centres, while another 25 existing hawker centres including Holland Village Market and Food Centre and North Bridge Road Market and Food Centre are slated for upgrades in 2023. 

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.