By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted:
11 January 2011 1913 hrs
SINGAPORE : The National Development Ministry has
said there was a delay in approving a wet market in Pasir Ris
because proposals submitted by the operator, Sheng Siong, were
unacceptable.
The operator had taken over the lease last March.
Senior Minister of State for National Development, Grace Fu,
explained: "It knew that it had bought the premises as a wet market
as this was stipulated in the lease agreement.
"Until recently, Sheng Siong repeatedly submitted proposals which
included supermarket features, suggesting that they were trying to
operate White Sands as a supermarket. HDB had no choice but to
reject these proposals as they were not in accordance with Sheng
Siong's commitment and did not meet the conditions for a wet
market."
Ms Fu said authorities met with Sheng Siong "over 10 times" to
discuss the situation.
She added that the lease clearly states that the market must have
individual stalls operated by individual stallholders.
In response to MediaCorp, Sheng Siong would only say that the old
market had been making losses for 15 years, and it needed to
introduce "new features" to cater to residents' needs.
A new proposal, which included air-conditioning for the new market,
was submitted on October 28, and it was approved on November
12.
Sheng Siong said it may not open in time for the Lunar New Year,
and has applied to set up a temporary bazaar outside the
market.
- CNA
