East Coast food village to undergo sea change

[Animian]

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/singap...change-20130812

 

Centre to close for 3 months for $1.5m revamp, first major upgrade in a decade

 

The $1.5 million overhaul, which will see it shuttered for three months - from Aug 19 to Nov 18 - was already scheduled before the blaze.

[Mustank]

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/singap...change-20130812

 

Centre to close for 3 months for $1.5m revamp, first major upgrade in a decade

 

The $1.5 million overhaul, which will see it shuttered for three months - from Aug 19 to Nov 18 - was already scheduled before the blaze.

 

sea level rising? better take precaution?

[13177]

No other eatery at ECP to eat liao?

[Animian]

sea level rising? better take precaution?

 

 

dunno why they put that title :D i jsut cut and paste

[Toothiewabbit]

No more kong bak for 3 months

[TVT]

Was there last nite and the wan tan noodle hawker told me about the renovation. I was surprised the place need to renovate as the surrounding looks quite 'modern' to me.

 

Also the car park became a ERP gantry type. So no more free parking after 10pm liao.

[Donut]

this only means one thing.

 

higher rental for the hawkers which means higher food prices for us.

 

if not, how are they gonna to recover the 1.5 million?

[Donut]

No other eatery at ECP to eat liao?

 

got..... McD at Jumbo area and Old Town at Big Splash.....

[Mustank]

this only means one thing.

 

higher rental for the hawkers which means higher food prices for us.

 

if not, how are they gonna to recover the 1.5 million?

 

operating ninja van now!!!!

 

 

Edited August 12, 2013 by Mustank

[13177]

got..... McD at Jumbo area and Old Town at Big Splash.....

All those not hawker food lo.

[13177]

this only means one thing.

 

higher rental for the hawkers which means higher food prices for us.

 

if not, how are they gonna to recover the 1.5 million?

Confirmed they will increase the food price.

[Adrianli]

this only means one thing.

 

higher rental for the hawkers which means higher food prices for us.

 

if not, how are they gonna to recover the 1.5 million?

 

The coffeshop near my place in Sembawang also going to be renovated. One of the stallholder told me the owner wana increase rent by $500 after reno. She told me she not gona rent if it goes up.

 

[Donut]

The coffeshop near my place in Sembawang also going to be renovated. One of the stallholder told me the owner wana increase rent by $500 after reno. She told me she not gona rent if it goes up.

 

now we know why our hawker trade is dying........

[TVT]

All those not hawker food lo.

Food court can anot? The set-up also like hawker food, but aircon environment.

[Adrianli]

now we know why our hawker trade is dying........

 

Ya. $500 more. Where to find 100 more customers per month even if she selling her chicken rice for $5 per plate in far far away Sembawang. The owners are just plain crazy.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Adrianli

[Mustank]

Ya. $500 more. Where to find 100 more customers per month even if she selling her chicken rice for $5 per plate in far far away Sembawang. The owners are just plain crazy.

 

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drin...al-3454169.html

 

 

NEWS that the Government will build 10 new hawker centres over the next 10 years, mostly in new Housing Board (HDB) estates, has been welcomed by many. The policy change comes after a break of 26 years .

 

True, there are other mass market eating places such as coffee shops and foodcourts. But these are usually run by private-sector operators and charge higher prices for food. The humble hawker centre, with its many cheap food stalls, remains a way of life for many Singapo-reans, especially heartlanders.

 

The policy change recognises the importance of affordable meals as a social necessity, especially with rising food prices placing a strain on tight budgets.

 

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said, when announcing the move, that his preference was for the new centres to be run on a not-for-profit basis, instead of by commercial operators.

 

In a separate statement to The Straits Times, the National Environment Agency (NEA), the authority managing 107 hawker centres, said it is exploring various management models for the new centres to ensure they can maintain affordable food prices. It is 'open to involving other players who are committed to this objective to manage these centres'.

 

These comments throw up an interesting issue: How should the centres be managed so that they offer good food at price points suitable for the masses and lower-income?

 

One lesson is clear: Don't just rely on tenders and market forces.

 

Recall the fiasco last year, after the Housing Board put up a tender for a market and food centre to be wholly operated by a private operator in Sengkang. This was a pilot project following calls from HDB flat dwellers for wet markets and hawker centres to be built.

 

Renaissance Properties, a subsidiary of foodcourt chain Kopitiam, beat 24 others with the highest bid to build and run the centre at $500,100 a month. That bid, however, translated into rents as high as $6,000 per stall, which is more than double the average rent for a stall in an NEA-run centre. As a result, stallholders charged about 30 per cent more for their cooked food than stalls elsewhere. Residents complained, or stayed away. Business was poor and some stalls were forced to close.

 

The new hawker centres should not be left to face the dictates of pure market forces and risk this fate.

 

Some people would prefer the NEA to continue operating and managing these centres, as in the days of yore. After all, it has the expertise and track record.

 

After the last hawker centre was built in 1985, the Government has also worked consistently to improve hawker centres. It raised the bar for food hygiene and cleanliness with a grading system. Since 2001, more than 90 hawker centres have been refurbished under a $420 million upgrading programme.

 

Throughout, hawker stall rents have been kept moderately low, as an incentive for hawkers to price their food affordably. About 42 per cent of stallholders in NEA-run centres pay subsidised rent of between $160 and $320 per month. These are either hawkers who were relocated from street stalls, or their immediate family members.

 

The other stalls are tendered out for between $300 and $4,900 per month. This rental is based on a valuer's assessment, taking into account stall size, location and the prevailing economic climate.

 

This Government-run model manages to keep rents low and, it is hoped, exerts a downward pressure on final food prices. But the reality is that NEA does not micro-manage tenants' businesses and has little influence over tenant mix, food and service quality, and food prices.

 

NEA might thus want to consider a hybrid management model for its new hawker centres: one that combines the efficiencies of having one master tenant run an entire centre, yet manages to keep prices affordable.

 

It could do so by working with an independent operator who is committed to keeping rents and food prices affordable and food quality high, rather than one driven only by the bottom line.

 

The advantages are clear. Having one master tenant allows for economies of scale. NEA or government agencies like the Health Promotion Board can more easily work with the operator to improve food quality and service standards in all the stalls in a centre. A master tenant not driven solely by profit will have an incentive to keep rents and hence food prices down.

 

Does such an entity exist? Actually, yes. A cooperative functions like a commercial entity. But instead of chasing profits, it could be given the added social mission of keeping cooked food prices low to help workers stretch their dollar.

 

NTUC Foodfare Cooperative, which already manages seven foodcourts and five coffee shops, is one example. One way it keeps food prices affordable is by submitting moderate bids for sites, to avoid having to pass on high costs to tenants and consumers.

 

Its food stalls are tendered out, but are not necessarily awarded to the highest bidders. Track record and willingness to partner the cooperative to hold food prices when needed also matter. The cooperative also reserves the right to approve changes in food prices.

 

Its management model could easily be replicated in a hawker centre.

 

But rather than allocate the new centres directly to any operator, NEA should select the operator based on a 'beauty contest'.

 

Unlike a traditional tender which rewards the highest bidder, a beauty contest allows potential operators to woo NEA with their creative ideas and proposals, not the highest bid. NEA can then evaluate how an interested operator will offer a varied, healthy and affordable range of cooked food, and award the right to operate the centre accordingly.

 

There is no shortage of enterprises and individuals with experience and creative ideas in the food business. Rather than run the centres itself or allocate them directly to a preferred operator, a 'beauty contest' tender allows NEA to reap benefits from the marketplace of ideas, without turning hawker centres into high-priced food joints.

 

[email protected]

[Nlatio]

got..... McD at Jumbo area and Old Town at Big Splash.....

 

 

err Bro.... I thought that area all closed??

 

Or there is another Mac??

 

Long time never go...... last time dark dark go there for jungle warfare and sea breeze....

Edited August 12, 2013 by Nlatio

[Picnic06-Biante15]

this only means one thing.

 

higher rental for the hawkers which means higher food prices for us.

 

if not, how are they gonna to recover the 1.5 million?

 

make sure someone check the ceilings and ensure 'annual' spring cleaning ....