New 650-seat hawker centre to open in Sengkang next year

SINGAPORE – Residents of Sengkang can look forward to a new hawker centre in the first quarter of 2024.

Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre at 339 Anchorvale Road will be located close to the Sengkang Sports Centre and Farmway LRT station. It is expected to have 36 cooked-food stalls and 650 seats, according to tender documents seen by The Straits Times.

This comes amid plans by the Government to build 20 new hawker centres – with a total of more than 800 cooked-food stalls – islandwide, to serve the needs of residents.

Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor said in Parliament on March 2 that the Government will prioritise new and existing estates in the heartland that are relatively underserved in terms of affordable dining options.

“These sites are selected after carefully considering factors, including residential catchment, availability of comparable dining options and complementary facilities in the vicinity. This ensures the centre serves the demands of the residents, while avoiding over-competition amongst comparable F&B (food and beverage) establishments,” she said.

Two new hawker centres are slated to open later in 2023 – one in Buangkok and the other in Woodleigh. And 25 hawker centres are scheduled for repairs and redecoration in 2023.

Fernvale Hawker Centre, near Seletar Mall in Sengkang West, opened in the third quarter of 2022.

Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre will be part of an integrated commercial and residential mixed-use development that will comprise two blocks of Housing Board flats and a neighbourhood centre.

Neighbourhood centres are positioned by the HDB to be “social and wellness” hubs where residents have easy access to food, dining, healthcare and retail outlets.

HDB said last Saturday that the 207-unit Anchorvale Village Build-To-Order project is on track for completion between May and July.

In its tender documents, the National Environment Agency (NEA) stipulated that the new hawker centre must include a food-waste digester.

Food-waste digesters typically work by using microbes to break down food waste into simpler organic materials – which can usually be used as fertilisers.

According to the public sector’s GreenGov.sg sustainability plan, public sector buildings with F&B establishments will be required to segregate food waste for either on-site or off-site treatment from 2024. 

This is part of its plans to lower the amount of waste disposed of per person daily by 30 per cent by 2030, from 2022 levels.

Tenderers must also work with the Health Promotion Board to provide healthier food and drinks for consumers, said NEA.

In addition, initiatives or programmes must be launched to contribute towards sustaining the local hawker trade, it noted.

One example includes the Incubation Stall Programme which, among other measures, allows aspiring hawkers to take up stalls at lower initial rental rates. This helps the hawkers defray costs and lowers barriers to entry to the trade.

Residents in Sengkang welcomed the opening of a new hawker centre, saying this would add more variety to their current dining options.

Sales manager Jonathan Tan, 28, said he is looking forward to the hawker centre’s opening, as it would be within walking distance of where he lives.

“Sengkang is in dire need of food options. I could do with a lot more variety,” he said.

Banking analyst Alphonse Low, 28, said he is excited about the new developments in Buangkok and Sengkang – pointing to the new Fernvale Community Club and hawker centre, and the new Sengkang Grand Mall near Buangkok MRT.

“For the longest time, the area did not have anything new. It’s definitely nice to have more food choices around,” he said.

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