By Lin Yingxin
THREE hawker centres will be closed for upgrading from April.
Works at Block 538 Bedok North Street 3 and Block 36 Telok Blangah Rise will start on April 1, while that at Block 209 Hougang Street 21 will start on April 19.
The facelifts, under the National Environment Agency's (NEA) Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP), will improve the hygienic environment for these centres, built more than 25 years ago. There will be improved ventilation, upgraded toilet facilities and new fixtures such as fans and light fittings.
The layout of the centres will also be reconfigured to make them more spacious and also add more elderly and handicap-friendly features such as ramps. Stallholders at Telok Blangah Rise and Hougang Street 21 can resume business in the upgraded centres by the end of this year while those at Bedok North Street 3 can move back in the first quarter of 2011.
During the upgrading period, affected stallholders may apply to operate temporarily at available vacant stalls in other non-upgraded centres.
The NEA currently manages 109 hawker centres. To date, 84 hawker centres have been upgraded under HUP. Some of the hawker centres currently being upgraded include Block 13/14 Haig Road, Block 448 Clementi Ave 3 and Block 531A Upper Cross Street.