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The National Environment Agency (NEA) has announced its search for a new operator for One Punggol Hawker Centre. Its current operators, Timbre + Hawkers, will be ending their 3-year lease early on 14 Aug 2026. That begs the question: what does this mean for you?
According to a statement issued by the NEA on 29 Dec 2025, an open tender will be held in Jan 2026 to decide on the new operator. It’s essentially a public auction where companies bid on a contract to operate the hawker centre. This ends the company’s 5-year tenure as the operator, which began on 31 Oct 2022.
The exit of Timbre + Hawkers comes after a controversial episode in Aug 2025, where its parent company, Timbre Group, was criticised for forcing hawkers to absorb a 10% discount from patrons paying via Timbre’s mobile application. To cut a long story short, it means that hawkers earn less money overall. Timbre Group’s rent pricing model was also accused of being predatory.
Hawkers were alerted and informed via a town hall meeting that occurred on the same day, where their concerns were also addressed. Just like the hawkers, I’m sure you have many questions. Will the hawker centre change aesthetically? Will the price of my favourite wanton mee increase?
Don’t panic, ok? The NEA stated that the new operator will be required to retain all stallholders who want to continue operating for at least 2 years, and they cannot increase rental rates for their first year in service. So yes, your favourite stalls will likely still be around.
Of course, this once again sparks a debate about how hawker centres are being managed. Some criticise how the NEA doesn’t directly manage all hawker centres in Singapore, which has led to companies exploiting and profiting from the blood, sweat, and tears of humble hawkers.
What do you think? Whoever the new operator of One Punggol Hawker Centre will be, I can only hope they treat our beloved hawkers fairly.
15 stalls at Yishun Park Hawker Centre that you will brave the bad & the mad for [Oct 2025 Update]
