By Lin Yingxin
THREE hawker centres will be closed for upgrading from
April.
Works at Block 538 Bedok North Street 3 and Block 36 Telok
Blangah Rise will start on April 1, while that at Block 209 Hougang
Street 21 will start on April 19.
The facelifts, under the National Environment Agency's (NEA)
Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP), will improve the hygienic
environment for these centres, built more than 25 years ago. There
will be improved ventilation, upgraded toilet facilities and new
fixtures such as fans and light fittings.
The layout of the centres will also be reconfigured to make them
more spacious and also add more elderly and handicap-friendly
features such as ramps. Stallholders at Telok Blangah Rise and
Hougang Street 21 can resume business in the upgraded centres by
the end of this year while those at Bedok North Street 3 can move
back in the first quarter of 2011.
During the upgrading period, affected stallholders may apply to
operate temporarily at available vacant stalls in other
non-upgraded centres.
The NEA currently manages 109 hawker centres. To date, 84 hawker
centres have been upgraded under HUP. Some of the hawker centres
currently being upgraded include Block 13/14 Haig Road, Block 448
Clementi Ave 3 and Block 531A Upper Cross Street.