BLOCK 13 HAIG ROAD MARKET AND GEYLANG SERAI MARKET (Request for transfer of hawkers)

Haji Rahmat bin Kenap asked the Minister for Law, the Environment and Science and Technology (a) whether it is possible to resite all the market produce hawkers from the Block 13 Haig Road Market into the old Geylang Serai Market at Jalan Pasar Baru as the new market at Block 13 Haig Road is not popular among the Haig Road flat residents who still go to the Geylang Serai Market and for this reason the market produce hawkers at Haig Road have little business; and (b) whether consideration can be given to absorbing all the Geylang Serai Cooked Food Centre hawkers into the Haig Road Block 13 Market as most of the people frequent the Haig Road Hawker Centre.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment (Mr Chor Yeok Eng) (for the Minister for Law, the Environment and Science and Technology): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Haig Road Market was built by the Housing and Development Board. It has 125 market produce stalls selling goods like fish and meat and articles of daily necessities. In addition to this, there are 72 cooked food stalls to cater for the needs of the residents in the new housing estate. As this is a new market, it will take some time for business to pick up.

The Geylang Serai Market at Jalan Pasar Baru is an old market managed by the Ministry of the Environment. It has 225 market produce stalls and 85 cooked food stalls and these are adequate to serve the people in the area. Any further increase of market produce hawkers in the market could affect the viability of the business of the existing hawkers. We will then be faced with more complaints.

It is not advisable to transfer the hawkers, as mentioned by the hon. Member, as putting market produce and cooked food hawkers in separate markets would not only affect the business of the hawkers but also cause inconvenience to residents who will have to travel longer distances for their requirements.

There is also insufficient space in Geylang Serai market to accommodate all the market produce hawkers from Haig Road market. Moreover, such a move would involve major alterations to the stalls in both markets at great cost.