SERANGOON GARDENS ESTATE: 2003

NEWS RELEASE NO: 51/2003
DATE OF ISSUE: 16 September 2003

Serangoon Gardens Food Centre, popularly known as Chomp Chomp, will close today for six months of upgrading under the National Environment Agency's Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP). The refurbished centre will reopen for business in April 2004.

2 The 31-year-old Chomp Chomp built in 1972 was chosen for this second batch of the HUP because the main parts of the centre's structure such as the roof and columns are dilapidated. The low roof also obstructs natural air circulation and offers little shelter during a downpour. After years of wear and tear, the old wall and floor tiles have many cracks causing the floor to be very uneven.

3 The newly upgraded food centre will retain all the existing 36 stalls in their present location and size as they are sold stalls, but a new roof and new mechanical and electrical services will be provided.

4 The new layout of the stalls will enable open courtyards to be incorporated in two areas, allowing more natural ventilation and light. Both indoor and outdoor refreshment areas will be incorporated in the new design, with the latter in timber and sheltered by umbrellas for an al fresco dining style. The area directly in front of the food centre will be built on a raised timber platform with low timber railings. (Please see the artist's impression below.)

5 The new, pitched roof will have clay tiles and its timber rafters will be exposed at the eaves to give Chomp Chomp a more rustic kampung ambience. The toilet block will also be redesigned with landscaping and the wash basins will be relocated outside. This new design will help make maintenance easier and hopefully encourage people to keep the toilets clean.

6 To date, 17 hawker/food centres have been upgraded under the NEA's HUP. Recently, two food centres in Jalan Berseh and Commonwealth Crescent started HUP upgrading. Five centres - at Block 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, Blocks 131-135 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, Tanglin Halt Market, Kallang Estate Market and the East Coast Lagoon Food Centre - will be completed by the end of this year.