Another interesting issue with relation to hawker centres
In Sengkang, a new hawker centre cum wet market is being built.
The authorities invited tenders (new strategy) to manage the
place.
Kopitiam bid $500,000.00 per month to manage the place.
Basically, means the authorities sit there doing nothing, and they
get an extra $500,000.00 per month as rental from Kopitiam.
Noting that there are about only 100 stalls within the hawker
centre/wet market, the crazy bid above translates to a price of
$5,000.00 per month for each hawker or wet market stall! That is
the price of a stall in a coffeeshop in a good location!
Residents wrote in to their MPs unhappy about this. If a rental
of a stall is $5,000.00 per month, I think you know what sort of
food prices you are going to get.
The authorities responded back highlighting that the private
firm should know what they are doing, and that if prices are too
high, the market demand and supply will come into play. So
residents living there should not be worried.
Basically, what they meant is, they want to continue taking the
$500,000 per month easy income, and they don't care what is going
to happen to the residents. Let market forces decide.
sigh...
Soul_rage
Great observation. Is the hawker centre the only one in vincinity
of SengKang? If so, an oligopoly structure, not free
market competition, is in place.
