Debated in Parliament on 11 Nov 2013.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether the new hawker centre in Yishun will be completed according to schedule; (b) how will the stalls be allocated; (c) whether the residents will be given priority in the allocation of these stalls; and (d) besides the hawker centre, whether there will be any new eateries like coffee shops.
Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources with regard to the 10 new hawker centres announced in Budget 2012 (a) whether there will be enough new hawkers to provide quality and affordable food at these new centres; (b) whether additional sites will be considered for construction in estates such as Yew Tee with more than 82,000 residents; and (c) whether there will be provision of adequate food outlets in proposed new towns such as Bidadari and Tengah.
The new hawker centre in Yishun is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2016. In addition, there are currently five HDB coffee shops that are being constructed in Yishun. Furthermore, there may be new private food outlets within the two upcoming commercial/residential developments at Yishun Town Centre and Junction Nine.
NEA will review the need for new hawker centres in existing towns, taking into account residents' needs and the availability of suitable sites. New HDB towns, such as those at Bidadari and Tengah, will have a range of amenities to serve its residents, including food outlets, such as hawker centres.
NEA currently allocates vacant stalls in hawker centres on the basis of open tenders regardless of where hawkers stay. This is a fair system that gives more opportunities to all persons who wish to operate a hawker stall, and does not limit them to the hawker centres in the area where they live.
NEA is also working with other agencies and partners to encourage and facilitate new entrants into the hawker trade, and the preservation of traditional hawkerfare. For example, NEA is collaborating with WDA to develop the Hawker Master Trainer Pilot Programme. The programme is supported by Knight Frank Pte Ltd and The Business Times and the training will be administered by Project Dignity. Under the programme, aspiring hawkers will hone their culinary skills through a Singapore Workforce Qualifications Skills (WSQ) training and on-the-
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job training with veteran hawkers or "Hawker Masters".
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