1/3 stalls sit vacant – Changi Village hawkers struggle due to Loyang Road road closure

SINGAPORE: A report this week highlighted the challenges that businesses at Changi Village are facing because of road works due to the Cross Island Line Loyang MRT station and the Loyang Viaduct.

On Feb 23, 2023, the Land Transportation Authority (LTA) announced that Loyang Avenue between Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Loyang Way would be closed for more than six years— from Feb 26, 2023, until the second quarter of 2029 due to the construction works in the area.

Up to that point, Loyang Avenue had been one of the most convenient ways of getting to Changi Village.

Drivers had been advised then to look for alternative routes to get there.

However, a year and a half later, a number establishments at Changi Village have closed. Shin Min Daily News reported earlier this week that nearly a third of the shops are vacant.

A coffee shop owner told the Chinese-language daily that in spite of stalls being offered free of rental charges, no one has come forward to give a go at running one.

Moreover, for 2024 alone, 10 out of the 60 businesses have closed down, said Lin Daochun, who chairs the Changi Village Merchants’ Association.

“Since road works began, about 30 per cent of shops are now vacant. Several shop owners have also reported business dropping by 40 to 60 per cent,” Mr Lin told Shin Min Daily News.

He added that his own eatery, Jacob’s Cafe, has seen its earnings slashed by about around half.

Business has been dismal even on weekends, said Yang Qin, who owns a coffee shop at Changi Village called Community Diner. Mr Yang’s coffee shop has eight food stalls for rent, but only two currently have a tenant.

He added: ”To increase the variety of food options available, I decided to offer the stalls rent-free but still no one has taken them up.”

The chairperson of a group of Changi Village hawkers, Mr Lin Wenjie, said that almost one in 10 cooked food stalls in the hawker centre are closed. Their operators have chosen to forfeit their rental fees instead of taking the risk of continuing operations, which could cause them further losses.

”The dinnertime crowd is down by half, even on weekends it’s lesser by about 30 per cent,” he said, noting that the difficulty of reaching Changi Village because of the roadworks are likely to disincentivize customers from making their way there for a meal. /TISG

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