New hawker centres to open in Bukit Batok West and Punggol Coast in first half of 2025

SINGAPORE – New and improved hawker centres, a national push to keep indoor temperatures at or above 25 deg C, and vouchers to offset the cost of efficient home appliances are among the national initiatives that Singaporeans can look forward to.

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) gave updates on some of these initiatives on March 4. Here are the highlights:

1. Two new hawker centres to open in 2025; up to $1 billion to be invested in upgrading and building of hawker centres

Two new hawker centres will open in Bukit Batok West and Punggol Coast in the first half of 2025, while five more hawker centres will be built to serve residents in existing or new estates in years to come, said the MSE and the National Environment Agency (NEA).

It is not known where the five new hawker centres will be.

The Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre at 469 Bukit Batok West Avenue 9 will have 22 cooked-food stalls and more than 400 seats, while the Punggol Coast Hawker Centre at 84 Punggol Way will have 40 cooked-food stalls and more than 680 seats.

To upgrade ageing hawker centres and build new ones, the MSE and the NEA will invest up to $1 billion over the next 20 to 30 years under the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme 2.0. The first iteration of the programme took place more than 20 years ago to upgrade or rebuild almost 100 centres, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said: “Over time, as our people’s needs evolve, our hawker centres have to be revitalised and future-ready. With climate change, an ageing population, rapid urban developments and shifting hawker profiles, patrons and hawkers have new expectations.”

She added: “Hawkers also require more productive and innovative solutions to meet their business aspirations and tackle operational challenges.”

Under the programme, hawker centres will be upgraded to become more vibrant, accessible and climate-resilient.

For example, the NEA will optimise the use of space within the centres, such as through better layout and stall configuration, to make them more pleasant for multi-generational families and the community.

To adapt to rising temperatures and make the centres more comfortable, NEA will explore solutions to improve air circulation and reduce ambient temperatures, such as by using high-volume, low-speed fans.

However, some older hawker centres in mature estates may need to be rebuilt instead of just being upgraded. MSE and NEA are working with the relevant planning agencies to identify such centres.

2. $600 rental support for hawkers 

A one-time rental support of $600 will be given to stallholders of each cooked-food and market stall in hawker centres and markets managed by the Government and government-appointed operators.

This is to recognise the role hawker centres and markets play in Singapore’s national identity and heritage. It is also to celebrate SG60 and the fifth anniversary of the

inscription of Singapore’s hawker culture

in the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Existing registered stallholders with an active tenancy as at Feb 18 will receive $600 per stall from April.

3. $88 million worth of climate vouchers used so far

In April 2024, all HDB households received $300 in climate vouchers, and about $88 million worth of these vouchers has been spent as at Jan 31.

Assuming that the households that used the vouchers redeemed all $300 at one go, this means some 293,333 households, or more than a quarter of all households in Housing Board flats, have used up their climate vouchers to buy energy- and water-saving appliances.

Overall, 80 per cent of households – around 850,000 HDB units – have claimed the e-vouchers from the RedeemSG website to use later.

These vouchers – which will be

topped up by $100 for families living in HDB flats

and extended to Singaporeans living in private housing from mid-April 2025 – are valid until Dec 31, 2027.

The top three appliances bought using the vouchers so far were direct current fans, refrigerators and washing machines, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor.

“This translates to annual energy savings that can power 19,000 four-room HDB flats and annual water savings equivalent to 900 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or about $31 million in annual utility savings,” said Dr Khor.

The vouchers can be used to buy 10 types of energy- and water-efficient appliances and fittings, such as air-conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators. They include air-conditioners labelled with five ticks and refrigerators with at least three ticks.

The vouchers can be used at about 170 retailers, covering more than 520 outlets islandwide.

4. Keeping buildings at 25 deg C

It might be more common to see the thermostat set to 25 deg C or higher at buildings, offices and malls in the future, as efforts are under way to avoid overcooling and help buildings save on electricity bills.

The Government intends to start an initiative to work with the public and businesses to slightly turn up air-conditioning temperatures, while still allowing people to escape the heat. More details will be announced later in 2025.

“This will reduce energy cost and allow occupants to dress more appropriately for our tropical climate,” said Ms Fu.

Air-conditioners tend to guzzle a lot of electricity while releasing planet-warming refrigerants.

Keeping the temperature at 25 deg C has been a practice at government buildings for a couple of years now since the public sector’s sustainability movement began.

5. Greening up the public sector

About $300 million will be set aside in an energy efficiency fund for public sector buildings, for use over the next five years.

The fund will be used to invest in worthwhile projects that will help government facilities reduce energy usage and reap savings from lower utility bills in the long run. Eligible projects could include retrofits to energy-guzzling systems or the installation of smart systems to optimise energy efficiency.

Public sector facilities that could be covered include offices, hospitals and MRT stations.

And from the 2025 financial year, businesses will need to keep sustainability in mind when they bid for event venues and event management tenders put out by the Government.

This is part of efforts to extend environmental sustainability criteria to Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tenders. Since 2024, public tenders related to large construction as well as information and communications technology have taken environmental sustainability into account.