related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

SINGAPORE: Construction works for a new two-storey complex in Bukit Panjang will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Sunday (Mar 25).

The design plans for Senja Hawker Centre were unveiled to Bukit Panjang residents for the first time at Zhenghua Community Centre.



Located along Senja road, the proposed development will have 38 cooked food stalls on the second floor, and a car park below with 82 car lots.

It will also have a roof garden above the hawker centre. According to NEA's tender which was published on the government’s e-procurement portal, GeBIZ, the proposed development will also have a trellis at the roof garden to provide "flexibility for future installation of solar panels by others".

Other sustainable features include a pneumatic waste conveyance system that will transport waste automatically to a central collection station through a network of pipes. This will remove the need to collect waste manually.

The project is expected to attain Green Mark GoldPlus and high Universal Design Mark rating, as well as meet the national productivity drive through the adoption of productive technologies. This includes creating a three-dimensional model of the building before it's even built, so that any problems which surface can be corrected immediately.



It will also see more stakeholders getting involved earlier during the planning stage of the construction as part of the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), which is a procurement approach introduced by the Building and Construction Authority.

Contractors will be engaged early to provide inputs during the design stage. According to NEA, this will lead to "better construction productivity and constructability, which may lead to overall time or cost savings".

This is also the first time NEA is adopting this procurement approach in the development of a hawker centre. Going forward, the authority says the approach may be adopted in future projects, if evaluated to be effective in the development of hawker centres.

A total of 32 suppliers bid for the proposed development in the pre-qualification exercise, which closed on Mar 12.

Construction of the new hawker centre is expected to be completed by 2020.

Speaking at an event, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Liang Eng Hwa said the new hawker centre will provide more choices and affordable food to residents.

"The area that the hawker centre is located at is actually quite a new area, with quite a high density housing over there so there are still insufficient or inadequate eating places over there. There are a few coffeeshops but not enough to be able to cater to the big and growing population there," said Mr Liang.

The new hawker centre is part of a five-year masterplan announced in 2015 to improve Holland-Bukit Panjang Town. Under the plan, a new polyclinic will also be built in Senja by 2020.