SINGAPORE – Rental waivers will be provided to stallholders in hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA), or by NEA-appointed operators for an additional two months up till August.

The NEA said on Saturday (May 30) that the additional two months of rental waiver was part of the Fortitude Budget announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (May 26).

Around 14,000 stallholders in markets and hawker centres will benefit from five months worth of rental waiver – 50 per cent in March, full rental waiver from April to July, and a 50 per cent rental waiver in August – with a minimum waiver of $200 per month.

In addition, table-cleaning and centralised dishwashing services will be subsidised for an additional month in June, benefiting around 6,000 cooked food stallhholders, as dining-in at food and beverage establishments will continue to be disallowed.

Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said: “Through the additional rental waiver and the extension of subsidy for table-cleaning fees and centralised dishwashing services, we hope to alleviate our stallholders’ operating costs during this challenging period.”

“We encourage members of the public to continue to support our hawkers through food deliveries or take-outs,” she added, encouraging people to use their own containers to reduce the use of disposable packaging.

Odd- or even-date entry restrictions at four popular markets will continue, in line with the first phase of safe reopening which begins from June 2.

NEA added that the crowd situation at these four markets – Geylang Serai Market, Chong Pang Market at Block 104/105 Yishun Ring Road, and the markets at Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane and Block 505 Jurong West Street 52 – have eased significantly over the last five weeks.

For instance, with the exception of the week leading up to Hari Raya Aidilfitri, average queue time was no more than 20 minutes, with no queue observed on some days.

Since the restrictions were enforced on April 24, the average daily entry rejection of patrons has been reduced by half, from around 400 patrons to 200 patrons.

To better help patrons plan their visits, the NEA encourages people to use Space Out, a platform which provides crowd level information, and the length of queues for entry into markets which are already full.

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