Timbre to stop running One Punggol Hawker Centre, tender for new operator opens in Jan 2026
The centre has 31 hawkers
[SINGAPORE] Plans are under way to find a new operator for One Punggol Hawker Centre – now run by a unit belonging to the Timbre Group, which has businesses that include eateries and live music venues.
The National Environment Agency (NEA), in a statement on Dec 29, said a tender will be called in January 2026 before Timbre + Hawkers ends its tenure on Aug 14, 2026 – one year before its three-year contract is slated to end.
Timbre + Hawkers will not be taking part in the upcoming tender, NEA said.
One Punggol Hawker Centre opened on Oct 31, 2022, and has 31 hawkers, according to information found on its website on Dec 29.
Timbre + Hawkers bagged the first contract to run the centre from September 2022 for two years, and in August 2024, inked a second deal to run the centre for three years until August 2027.
NEA said it will be working closely with Timbre + Hawkers and the new operator to ensure there is little disruption to stallholders and patrons during the transition period.
It added that the new operator will be required to retain all existing individual stallholders who wish to continue their operations for at least two years.
During this period, existing rental rates will remain unchanged for the first year, and later changes, if any, will be capped at market rates.
NEA added that it is committed to supporting hawkers and patrons while continuously improving social enterprise hawker centres to better serve the community.
In a Facebook post on Dec 29, NEA said it held a town hall meeting earlier in the day with One Punggol Hawker Centre stallholders, Timbre + Hawkers and Janil Puthucheary, who is Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment. He is also an MP for Punggol GRC.
The upcoming tender and questions on the transition, timeline and process on the change in operators were among the issues discussed at the town hall meeting, NEA added.
NEA said: “Stallholders were also informed about the changes ahead and measures in place to protect their interests.”
Janil, in a Facebook post on Dec 29, said: “Timbre, NEA and Punggol Coast grassroots leaders will work together with the stallholders to address concerns, to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.”
Timbre + Hawkers runs another social enterprise hawker centre near Yishun Park. It took flak in August for management practices at the hawker centre and the rental model it has in place, among other issues.
The Straits Times has contacted Timbre + Hawkers for further details. THE STRAITS TIMES
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