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SINGAPORE \u2013 Plans are under way to find a new operator for One Punggol Hawker Centre \u2014 now run by a unit belonging to the Timbre Group, which has businesses that include eateries and live music venues. <\/p>\n
The National Environment Agency (NEA), in a statement on Dec 29, said a tender will be called in January 2026 before Timbre + Hawkers ends its tenure on August 14, 2026 \u2014 one year before its three-year contract is slated to end.<\/p>\n
Timbre + Hawkers will not be taking part in the upcoming tender, NEA said.<\/p>\n
One Punggol Hawker Centre opened on Oct 31, 2022 and is home to 31 hawkers, according to information found on its website on Dec 29.<\/p>\n
Timbre + Hawkers bagged the first contract to run the centre from September 2022 for two years, and in August 2024, inked a second deal to run the centre for three years until August 2027.<\/p>\n
NEA said it will be working closely with Timbre + Hawkers and the new operator to ensure there is little disruption to stallholders and patrons during the transition period.<\/p>\n
It added that the new operator will be required to retain all existing individual stallholders who wish to continue their operations for at least two years.<\/p>\n
During this period, existing rental rates will remain unchanged for the first year, and later changes, if any, will be capped at market rates.<\/p>\n
NEA added that it is committed to supporting hawkers and patrons while continuously improving social enterprise hawker centres to better serve the community.<\/p>\n
In a Facebook post on Dec 29, NEA said it held a town hall meeting earlier in the day with One Punggol Hawker Centre stallholders, Timbre + Hawkers, and Dr Janil Puthucheary, who is Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment. He is also an MP for Punggol GRC.<\/p>\n
The upcoming tender and questions on the transition, timeline and process on the change in operators were among the issues discussed at the town hall meeting, NEA added.<\/p>\n
NEA said: \u201cStallholders were also informed about the changes ahead and measures in place to protect their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Timbre + Hawkers runs another social enterprise hawker centre near Yishun Park. It <\/p>\n took flak<\/p>\n <\/a> in August for management practices at the hawker centre and the rental model it has in place, among other issues.<\/p>\n The Straits Times has contacted Timbre + Hawkers for further details.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n