SINGAPORE: Chinatown Complex is set to undergo a major three-month renovation next year, after hawkers and stallholders voiced concerns about issues like poor lighting and a lack of lifts.
The makeover for Singapore’s largest hawker centre and market, which is home to more than 220 stalls that include several Michelin-awarded hawker stalls, will be more extensive than usual under an enhanced Repairs and Redecoration programme.
Chinatown Complex last underwent renovations about eight years ago.
The Chinatown Complex Hawker Association told CNA that it is planning for works to start in March 2026.
Hawkers whom CNA spoke to expressed hopes for improvements in the ageing structure, saying customers often struggle to find specific stalls.
Chinatown Complex opened in 1983 and has become popular with locals and tourists alike. It currently has 700 tenants across a hawker centre, wet market and sundry stores.
“I hope this place (will) be brighter because the light is not so good,” said one hawker, adding he hopes more wash basins can be installed for customers to use.
Another hawker lamented that cooking fumes from hawker stalls at times spread to the dining area in front of his stall, causing a smoky odour to hang in the air.
Lifts – or lack thereof – are also an issue. Only two lifts service the entire food centre on the second level of the complex.
Businesses said it can take up to 15 minutes for their goods to be delivered from the ground floor, while those using personal mobility aids – such as the elderly – also have to rely on the two lifts to get to the food centre.
Mr Cornelius Tan, chairman of the Chinatown Complex Hawker Association, said its members had approached the area’s Member of Parliament Josephine Teo for help.
Mrs Teo, who is also the Minister for Digital Development and Information, then set up a task force comprising the association as well as the National Environment Agency (NEA), Housing and Development Board, and Jalan Besar Town Council.
“We sat together to get the requirements together, and they listened to what are the areas that we hope to seek improvements in. (This is) especially when it comes to accessibility,” said Mr Tan.
“The complex is too big and we have too many columns and beams, so there are many times seniors get into the complex but they have difficulty navigating around, and so they tend to only stay in a small area.”
He said the task force will examine ways to make Chinatown Complex more elderly friendly and easier to navigate.
Customers at the Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Mr Tan also noted “a lot of ground sentiments” that footfall was dropping due to customers’ preference for restaurants or shopping centres, as well as Chinatown Complex being “dark and warm” compared to other places.
“We hope that high-velocity fans can be deployed as well, so that the airflow will be much better and we’ll have natural (air) coming in … in some hidden areas, it can be quite hot,” he added.
Before renovations commence, tenants will be notified so they can make sufficient preparations, said Mr Tan.
He added that the association will work with NEA and the town council to ensure the renovation process does not take too long, so as to minimise impact to tenants’ businesses and income during the period.
However, some experts said a renovation may not be enough to revitalise the place.
Customers patronising hawker stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Mr Yun Wai Wing, director of architectural firm Spark Architects, said it would require a slew of infrastructural changes within the marketplace to transform what he called a “monotonous” layout of stalls.
“The view you see is basically an endless row of shops and endless row of chairs and tables, and that may not be that appealing to many,” he said.
“Maybe it’s even better to rebuild it than to restructure it.”
Still, industry players are optimistic that the government’s recently announced S$1 billion fund to upgrade existing hawker centres and build new ones will help boost footfall.
This Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme 2.0 is unrelated to the Chinatown Complex renovation.
NEA said it is currently determining the first batch of hawker centres to be upgraded under the programme, and will give more details in due course.
Mr Anthony Low, chairman of the hawkers’ division at the Federation of Merchants’ Association, Singapore, noted that several hawker centres face pest and bird problems, among other issues.
"When visitors from foreign countries come to Singapore, they want to see what these hawker centres are that we, as Singaporeans, are proud of,” he said.
“If hawker centres can provide a so-called cleaner, brighter and more cooling area, people will have better comments on our hawker centres, and youngsters will feel more like coming to our hawker centres.”
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The makeover for Singapore’s largest hawker centre and market, which is home to more than 220 stalls that include several Michelin-awarded hawker stalls, will be more extensive than usual under an enhanced Repairs and Redecoration programme.
Chinatown Complex last underwent renovations about eight years ago.
The Chinatown Complex Hawker Association told CNA that it is planning for works to start in March 2026.
PROBLEMS WITH LIGHTING, VENTILATION
Hawkers whom CNA spoke to expressed hopes for improvements in the ageing structure, saying customers often struggle to find specific stalls.
Chinatown Complex opened in 1983 and has become popular with locals and tourists alike. It currently has 700 tenants across a hawker centre, wet market and sundry stores.
“I hope this place (will) be brighter because the light is not so good,” said one hawker, adding he hopes more wash basins can be installed for customers to use.
Another hawker lamented that cooking fumes from hawker stalls at times spread to the dining area in front of his stall, causing a smoky odour to hang in the air.
Lifts – or lack thereof – are also an issue. Only two lifts service the entire food centre on the second level of the complex.
Businesses said it can take up to 15 minutes for their goods to be delivered from the ground floor, while those using personal mobility aids – such as the elderly – also have to rely on the two lifts to get to the food centre.
Mr Cornelius Tan, chairman of the Chinatown Complex Hawker Association, said its members had approached the area’s Member of Parliament Josephine Teo for help.
Mrs Teo, who is also the Minister for Digital Development and Information, then set up a task force comprising the association as well as the National Environment Agency (NEA), Housing and Development Board, and Jalan Besar Town Council.
“We sat together to get the requirements together, and they listened to what are the areas that we hope to seek improvements in. (This is) especially when it comes to accessibility,” said Mr Tan.
“The complex is too big and we have too many columns and beams, so there are many times seniors get into the complex but they have difficulty navigating around, and so they tend to only stay in a small area.”
He said the task force will examine ways to make Chinatown Complex more elderly friendly and easier to navigate.
Customers at the Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Mr Tan also noted “a lot of ground sentiments” that footfall was dropping due to customers’ preference for restaurants or shopping centres, as well as Chinatown Complex being “dark and warm” compared to other places.
“We hope that high-velocity fans can be deployed as well, so that the airflow will be much better and we’ll have natural (air) coming in … in some hidden areas, it can be quite hot,” he added.
Before renovations commence, tenants will be notified so they can make sufficient preparations, said Mr Tan.
He added that the association will work with NEA and the town council to ensure the renovation process does not take too long, so as to minimise impact to tenants’ businesses and income during the period.
IS RENOVATION ENOUGH?
However, some experts said a renovation may not be enough to revitalise the place.
Customers patronising hawker stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Mr Yun Wai Wing, director of architectural firm Spark Architects, said it would require a slew of infrastructural changes within the marketplace to transform what he called a “monotonous” layout of stalls.
“The view you see is basically an endless row of shops and endless row of chairs and tables, and that may not be that appealing to many,” he said.
“Maybe it’s even better to rebuild it than to restructure it.”
Still, industry players are optimistic that the government’s recently announced S$1 billion fund to upgrade existing hawker centres and build new ones will help boost footfall.
This Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme 2.0 is unrelated to the Chinatown Complex renovation.
NEA said it is currently determining the first batch of hawker centres to be upgraded under the programme, and will give more details in due course.
Mr Anthony Low, chairman of the hawkers’ division at the Federation of Merchants’ Association, Singapore, noted that several hawker centres face pest and bird problems, among other issues.
"When visitors from foreign countries come to Singapore, they want to see what these hawker centres are that we, as Singaporeans, are proud of,” he said.
“If hawker centres can provide a so-called cleaner, brighter and more cooling area, people will have better comments on our hawker centres, and youngsters will feel more like coming to our hawker centres.”
Continue reading...