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Holland Village market and hawker centre to close for revamp next year

This article is more than 12 months old

The market and hawker centre in Holland Village will close for a six-month renovation in the fourth quarter of next year.

The $1.26 million upgrade looks set to give the Holland Village Market and Food Centre new chairs, tables and cooked food stalls, with new electrical wiring to be installed, among other things.

An expression of interest posted by the National Environment Agency (NEA) earlier this month closed on Nov 20 with 17 respondents.

NEA said the aim of the works is to "enhance the condition of the centre and prolong its economic lifespan".

In response to queries, an NEA spokesman said the agency is at the stage of inviting consultants to express their interest in providing consultancy services for the works.

According to Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, the hawker centre has undergone regular maintenance works over the years and was last renovated in 2005. There are 21 cooked food stalls and 30 market stalls.

The NEA spokesman told The Straits Times that stall owners will be exempt from paying rent and service fees during the renovation and rent will not increase after the revamp.

She said the agency had been engaging stallholders in small groups on some of the possible changes.

While tenants agreed the renovation would benefit them in the long run, some older tenants told ST yesterday they were worried the long closure would hurt them financially.

Some stall owners in their 60s and 70s also fretted about moving their things out of the stalls.

Fruit stall owner Lily Chua, 50, said it would be better for stall owners if the renovation could be postponed for a few years till the opening of the upcoming One Holland Village.

The mixed-use development, which sits next to the hawker centre, is expected to be completed between 2022 and 2024.

Madam Ng Bee Leng, 54, who works at the soya bean milk stall owned by her parents, said she was happy about the revamp.

"The surrounding area is being upgraded so we do need a makeover as well so that we can keep up. It will help with business in the long run," she said.

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