SINGAPORE – New social enterprise hawker centres (SEHCs) are set to take root in more areas of Singapore, with the first of 13 to open in 2020 at the Bukit Canberra sport and community hub in Sembawang.

The new SEHCS, to be completed in 2027, will join the seven existing social enterprise hawker centres currently operating across Singapore.

These seven hawker centres are managed by five social-enterprise entities: Hawker Management by Koufu, Fei Siong Social Enterprise, NTUC Foodfare, Timbre+Hawkers and OTMH by Kopitiam.

The Housing Board and the National Environment Agency (NEA) oversee most of Singapore’s other hawker centres.

Hawkers at the 13 new SEHCs will get a head start with the NEA’s new Staggered Rent Scheme, where stallholders will pay lower rents for the first two years of the centres’ operations.

In the first year, they will pay 80 per cent rent for the stall, and in the second year, 90 per cent.

After a hiatus of nearly 30 years, the Government began building hawker centres in 2011 to help stabilise cooked food prices against the emerging dominance of coffee shops and foodcourts.

Dishwashing is centralised and an automated tray-return system has been introduced under the SEHC model.

These features are to overcome manpower shortages and help ensure a cleaner environment.

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