Hawkers query rents at new food centre
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Jan 16, 2011 - Straits Times
HAWKERS from the iconic Bedok Food Centre are worried about possible rent hikes after they move to a new centre.
At yesterday's East Coast Remaking Our Heartland launch, six representatives peppered Senior Minister S. Jayakumar and fellow East Coast GRC MP Lee Yi Shyan with questions about their future after their lease expires in May 2014.
Last month, about 50 of the 70 hawkers there had petitioned the Government to retain the centre.
Yesterday, they were happy to hear that a new food centre will be built next to the existing one, and that they would be given priority at the new site, targeted to be completed by the time the lease expires. But it has not been decided whether the new centre will be run by the National Environment Agency or a private developer.
'If a private developer takes over, the rent can reach $5,000 to $6,000 a month,' said fishball noodle seller Richard Teo, 51, chairman of the centre's hawkers' association, who initiated last month's petition. The stall owners now pay $1,100 to $1,400 a month.
'We don't want to raise our food prices because of the rent,' said wanton noodle seller Ivy Tan, 47. 'This is a place for HDB heartlanders to have their three meals.' The hawkers said Mr Lee had told them that more details would be available in one or two weeks.
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Reply: Increase rentals will make sure the hawkers don't profiteer.
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increasing the rent will also help the people have "affordable meals" by making sure the hawkers don't rip off the people
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more good years to come!
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The Food Centre have to be improved/upgraded/enhanced sooner of later, and the cost of it recovered. Therefore the increase in rent is also inevitable.
Sorry, those that cannot garner enough customers to pay the rent and have sufficient left over to make a decent living will be eliminated.
So the food vendors will have to balance cost with quality.
Your wanton mee will be minimum $3.50 per plate, and it better be very good.
And if the table cleaners get paid more, expect the avereage price of food to be in the region of $4.00+
You don't patronise them as a form of protest, so what, others will patronise, what do you think increasing the population to 6 mil is all about.
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The abolishment of Rent Control Act is one of the underlying cause of asset inflation.
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Looks like my dream of $10 laksa at hawker centres is coming true :) Yeahhhhhh!!!!!
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
The abolishment of Rent Control Act is one of the underlying cause of asset inflation.
since when they abolish? y?
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One bowl of laksa 10 SGD is japanese standard of living. My relative who went to japan told me.
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Originally posted by Rock^Star:
since when they abolish? y?
2001. Most properties had then been acquired by the government so no longer need to rein in the land or property owners who owned properties prior to 1945.
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i only lament the loss of good food
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Originally posted by Pure Emptiness:
One bowl of laksa 10 SGD is japanese standard of living. My relative who went to japan told me.
what you need to see is the purchasing power parity of the people.. and how much their wages are...
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Probably hawker centre privately owned after renovation.... thru open bidding ....
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Originally posted by Rock^Star:
Looks like my dream of $10 laksa at hawker centres is coming true :) Yeahhhhhh!!!!!
Come eat it at Marina Bay Sandsits $17 per bowl
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They should increase rentals to help the poor.
As always.
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
Jan 16, 2011 - Straits Times
'If a private developer takes over, the rent can reach $5,000 to $6,000 a month,' said fishball noodle seller Richard Teo, 51, chairman of the centre's hawkers' association, who initiated last month's petition. The stall owners now pay $1,100 to $1,400 a month.
we are to assume that the population of the community remains the same, and therefore each hawker would not have an unusual rise in number of customers.
if the rent rise 4 times, from (1.1k-1.4k) to (5,6k), we will expect the price of a regular bowl of laksa (currently priced $2.50) to rise in proportion by 4 times, to $10 a bowl.
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so no choice la....no wonder so many many chinamen manning the laksa and bak chor mee stalls.
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Originally posted by Fcukpap:
i only lament the loss of good food
The food quality is getting to be mediocre and lower, but the price keeps rising due to inflation, and better ambience.
More and more the hawker fare is being made (not cooked) by by rote.
Now we are have PRC girls dishing out laksa. Yes, its laksa, looks like laksa, taste like laksa, but somehow not quite right.
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Originally posted by mancha:
The food quality is getting to be mediocre and lower, but the price keeps rising due to inflation, and better ambience.
More and more the hawker fare is being made (not cooked) by by rote.
Now we are have PRC girls dishing out laksa. Yes, its laksa, looks like laksa, taste like laksa, but somehow not quite right.
One day all the Singapore taste will disappear.