The Jurong West Hawker Centre has announced that it will be offering weekend massage services to revitalise the food centre and draw more crowds to its stalls.
The food centre and wet market is also extending a shuttle bus service and implementing a sign change to attract patrons. The changes are expected to revive trade in the centre that has been struggling to retain business since it opened two years ago.
Today, only about half of the centre’s hawker and wet market stalls are occupied – 6 out of 14 market stalls and 17 out of 34 hawker stalls remain vacant.
Tenants told the national broadsheet that it is tough to attract residents who have other options nearby and that the empty stalls could signal a lack of variety in the hawker centre and market’s offerings.
Jurong West Hawker Centre is one of the Social Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHCs) in Singapore, that was launched to lower the costs of cooked food for Singaporeans.
During his National Day Rally speech last August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong asserted that hawker culture is vital to the Singapore identity. Revealing that Singapore will nominate hawker culture for UNESCO recognition, PM Lee also said that SEHCs will be built to help Singaporeans cut the cost of living by opting for cheaper food and foster further bonding between Singapore residents.
The Jurong West Hawker Centre, in particular, is run by Hawker Management, a subsidiary of Koufu Group.
Koufu is founded by Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC grassroots leader Mr Pang Lim. Mr Pang Lim (PBM), is also the Vice-Chairman of Punggol 21 CC Building Fund Committee as well as Patron of Punggol North CCC and Punggol 21 CCMC.
https://theindependent.sg.sg/nea-says-nothing-wrong-with-koufu-boss-giving-hefty-64k-contract-a-month-for-dishwashing-to-his-own-brother/
-/TISG