Sengkang folk worried over high wet-market bid

One wet market-cum-food centre has set off a worried buzz among Sengkang residents.
Expected to be completed late next year, the 4,000-sq m complex is sited opposite the Sengkang MRT/LRT station and bus interchange.

The buzz is over the $500,100 per month bid that won the tender.

Housewife Cyndi Lee, 33, said she was surprised to learn last Monday that the Housing Board had awarded the tender to Renaissance Properties for that sum.

'With such a high tender, food prices might become very expensive,' said the Sengkang resident of four years.

Three residents have written to MP Charles Chong of Punggol-Pasir Ris GRC to voice similar concerns. 'Residents will be hit by the high product and service costs. Will neighbouring food courts follow suit in charging higher prices too?' said resident Samuel Eio, 37, in his e-mail to Mr Chong.
Renaissance Properties, a subsidiary of foodcourt chain Kopitiam, outbid 24 others for the contract.

The second-highest bidder, Sembawang New Market, tendered at $256,788. It runs three wet markets - in Simei, Serangoon and Sembawang - and has been in the business for more than 20 years.

The tenancy is for a maximum of 15 years, with an option to renew every five years. The site will have an estimated 40 market stalls selling fresh produce, 10 stalls selling dried goods and groceries, and 50 cooked-food stalls.

This is the first time the HDB has let out land for a private operator to build, manage and operate a standalone and naturally ventilated market and food centre. HDB said Sengkang was selected because it is a new town and many residents have asked for additional market and food centres.

However, industry sources told The Sunday Times that, with such a high bid, Kopitiam may have to charge rent as high as $8,000 a month to cover the operating cost.

Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News reported that the building cost of a market-cum- food centre ranges from $5 million to $7 million. The average monthly rent for a wet market stall is around $2,000, it said.

The average monthly rent of cooked-food stalls, depending on location, ranges from $1,000 to $4,000, said the president of Bedok North 216 Food Centre and Market Hawkers' Association, Mr Goh Ah Kee.

In reply to queries from The Sunday Times, the HDB said prices are determined by the private operators and it is in their own interest to price their food and goods affordably.

Mr Chong said: 'I hate to think of a situation when the prices are too high to patronise and both sides lose. Residents don't get their services and the operators go bankrupt. But whether it will succeed or not, it is yet to be seen.'

Kopitiam declined to comment.

Source: Straits Times, 5 April 2009