Residents in Choa Chu Kang town can now look forward to another hawker centre in their neighbourhood to serve their needs. This will be in addition to the one hawker centre in Choa Chu Kang town announced in 2015 by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, as part of a broader announcement then on new hawker centres to be located in new estates or existing ones that are relatively under-served.
Currently, there is no hawker centre in Choa Chu Kang town. The closest hawker centre to Choa Chu Kang town is the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre located at Bukit Panjang Ring Road, which is more than 3km away. The two new hawker centres in Choa Chua Kang will provide more affordable food options to residents. These hawker centres are among the 20 new hawker centres to be developed across the island to better serve residents’ needs.
Hawker centres are an integral part of Singapore. They are our community dining rooms – well-loved by Singaporeans from all walks of life. They serve three key social objectives of providing affordable food in a hygienic environment; a decent living for our local hawkers; and vibrant social spaces to bond our communities.
In 2011, the Government announced the resumption of building of new hawker centres, after a hiatus of almost 30 years, to serve as a ballast to stabilise cooked food prices against the emerging dominance of coffee shops and food courts. To date, seven of the 20 new hawker centres have been completed and are in operation. These centres are located at Bukit Panjang, Ci Yuan, Kampung Admiralty, Jurong West, Our Tampines Hub, Pasir Ris Central and Yishun Park. Other new hawker centres that have been announced are located at Sembawang, Bidadari, Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang North, Sengkang (Anchorvale, Fernvale and Buangkok), Punggol (Punggol Town Hub and Punggol Digital District).
Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Amy Khor said, “The Government resumed the development of hawker centres, in response to Singaporeans’ call for access to more affordable food options. Hawker centres serve the important role of stabilising food prices, offering affordable and accessible food options, when compared to other food and beverage (F&B) outlets such as coffee shops, food courts and even shopping malls in some HDB estates. Residents in Choa Chu Kang have requested for hawker centres, and we hope that with the two new hawker centres in the pipeline, they will be able to enjoy affordable and tasty hawker fare right in their neighbourhood.”