Pasir Ris' first hawker centre is expected to open for business in 2017, the National Environment Agency said at its ground-breaking ceremony yesterday .

Located near the Pasir Ris Sports and Recreation Centre and MRT station, it will have 45 cooked food stalls and more than 800 seats.

A multi-storey carpark above the hawker centre will have spaces for 115 vehicles and 60 bicycles to take into account the cycling path network around Pasir Ris, which will also link to the centre.

The dining areas will be arranged in a fan shape, facing Pasir Ris Town Park. There will be family-friendly features such as lowered seats for children and the elderly, diaper-changing and nursing rooms on both floors, and three lifts.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, guest of honour at the ceremony yesterday, said the hawker centre will bring residents together for meals and help them to recharge after sports.

MORE IMPROVEMENTS Many residents want to see the continuation of having a good amount of greenery in Pasir Ris, but they also want to see new developments... HDB is looking at all the suggestions. DPM TEO CHEE HEAN

Mr Teo, who is also an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, said all of Pasir Ris' precincts will undergo the Housing Board's Neighbourhood Renewal Programme over the next few years.

"Many residents want to see the continuation of having a good amount of greenery in Pasir Ris, but they also want to see new developments - for example, an integrated town hub. HDB is looking at all the suggestions," he said.

Exhibition panels featuring the new hawker centre's layout and artist's impressions will be displayed at the Pasir Ris recreation centre until tomorrow.

Said Pasir Ris resident Tan Phei See, a 38-year-old housewife who eats out three or four times a week: "With more and more people living in Pasir Ris, this hawker centre will be very convenient for us," she said.

The Pasir Ris hawker centre is among 20 new hawker centres that will be built by 2027.

The first two in Hougang and Bukit Panjang are expected to open next month and by the end of this year respectively.