SINGAPORE - The National Environment Agency (NEA) is calling for socially-conscious operators such as social enterprises and co-operatives to submit tenders for the management of a new hawker centre on a not-for-profit basis.

The 800-seat hawker centre located in Our Tampines Hub, Singapore's first integrated community hub, is expected to commence operations in November this year, when the hub will begin to open in stages. The hawker centre will have 41 cooked food stalls.

On top of their experience in food and beverage operations, property and lease management, social enterprises and co-operatives may be more flexible and better able to provide centre-specific solutions to issues, the NEA said in a release on Friday (May 20).

Interested parties must state in their tenders the overall framework they will adopt in their management of the new hawker centre, including innovative solutions to enhance the vibrancy of the centre such as by providing an all-day dining experience and using available common spaces for social activities, the NEA said.

Tenders should also encompass measures to implement food waste recycling, promote graciousness, and raise productivity at the hawker centre such as through centralised dishwashing.

The deadline for tender submission is June 30.

The 5.3ha hub where the hawker centre will be located sits on the site of the former Tampines Stadium and Sports Hall, and will have a performing arts theatre and sports and recreation facilities including a 5,000-seat stadium with a Fifa- approved football pitch.

Note: This story has been updated for clarity.