The new Bukit Panjang hawker centre - the first of 10 planned centres - will have green features, parking and a variety of affordable dishes available all day.

Its manager NTUC Foodfare will ask stall applicants to submit their proposed prices, concept and operating hours as part of its tender process, said its chief executive Perry Ong. "While we intend to have the best food here, we will ensure that the food centre has a good selection of basic and affordable food to help moderate the cost of living," he said.

The hawker centre is expected to open in the second half of 2015 and will have 28 cooked food stalls, 14 market stalls and 15 lock-up stalls. Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan was the guest of honour at its ground-breaking ceremony on Sunday.

Construction for the other nine new hawker centres will start in 2014 and 2015, and all are expected to be completed by 2017.