Wednesday, December 24, 2008

HDB Invites Tenders For Sengkang Market

Source : The Business Times, December 24, 2008

THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) began inviting tenders yesterday for a land parcel in Sengkang New Town for the building and managing of a market and food centre. The land parcel has a site area of 6,000 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 4,000 sq m.

The tenure is for an initial five years with options for another two terms. The development will house an estimated 100 stalls offering fresh market produce and cooked food, as well as parking lots and a drop-off porch.

The tender arose from the Forum on HDB Heartware, which among other things, recommended the building of wet markets and hawker centres to promote community bonding and strengthen local identity. Sengkang was chosen for the pilot project as it is a new town and many requests have been made for another market and food centre.

Despite the dismal economic climate, Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy, expects the response to be positive. 'The Sengkang area is a growing estate housing about 140,000 people at the moment and the location of the market is quite attractive as well, with it being surrounded by high-density flats and quite near the MRT,' he said, adding that the project would most likely be taken on by a contractor that frequently works with the HDB.

The project is expected to be completed on or before Dec 31, 2010.

No comments: