This Blog is a joint-effort by:
CHOW KOK FONG is a Chartered Arbitrator and currently practises as a mediator, arbitrator and adjudicator. He was previously CEO of Changi Airports International and of the Construction Industry Development Board and has held many other senior appointments with several large real estate and construction companies. He is Founder President of the Society of Project Managers, past Chairman of the Society of Construction Law and currently, chairs the Construction Adjudicators Accreditation Committee. Among his 19 books are the two-volume work Law and Practice of Construction Contracts (up to 5th edition 2018); Security of Payments and Construction Adjudication (up to 2nd edition 2013) and the volume on Building and Construction Law in Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore (2019). On 1 November 2013, he was awarded the quinquennial Singapore Academy of Law Award 2013 for contributions in promoting and advancing the development of Singapore law. In 2018, he was conferred a National Day Award for services to the Singapore Academy of Law.
Edwin Lee Peng Khoon is one of the founding partners of Eldan Law LLP. He is accredited by the Singapore Academy of Law as a Senior Specialist in Construction Law. Edwin is a member of the SMC’s Construction Adjudication Accreditation Committee, which oversees the selection, training and assessment of adjudicators. Edwin is also an accredited adjudicator in Malaysia. He has an active practice in construction law, conducting cases in court and in arbitration. Several of the leading constructions court cases argued by him include Lee Wee Lick Terence v Chua Say Eng, CAA Technologies Pte Ltd v Newcon Builders Pte Ltd and Audi Construction Pte Ltd v Kian Hiap Construction Pte Ltd. Edwin is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore, and also lectures on construction law for the Building & Construction Authority Academy. He is the Construction Law editor for the Singapore Academy of Law’s online journal the SAL Practitioner, and author of Building Contract Law in Singapore (Lexis Nexis, 3rd Ed, 2016).
Melvin Chan is a Partner in TSMP Law Corporation’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department, and also co-heads the Construction & Engineering practice, where he has extensive experience in contentious construction and engineering disputes, both in Court and arbitration. Melvin has successfully argued a number of landmark decisions in the High Court and Court of Appeal, including MCST Plan No 3322 v Mer Vue Developments Pte Ltd & Ors on the extension of the independent contractor defence to consultants and main contractors; Wei Siang Design Construction Pte Ltd v Euro Assets Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, on the ambit of the consultants’ duty of care to the employer; and more recently Denka Advantech Pte Ltd v Seraya Energy Pte Ltd, where the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the Dunlop test for liquidated damages. Melvin is an Accredited Adjudicator and a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, and is consistently recognised as a key practitioner for his work in Construction and Engineering in leading legal publications, including the Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Chambers Asia-Pacific, Asialaw Leading Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific.
Yvonne Foo is a construction lawyer based in Singapore, working alongside contractors on construction projects in Singapore, South-East Asia and the Middle East. Having spent almost 7 years in the Middle East, Yvonne developed a keen appreciation of the differences between civil and common law approaches, and among stakeholders coming from various cultural backgrounds. She also takes a particular interest in internationally used contract forms such as the FIDIC. Yvonne speaks regularly on issues of construction law and international arbitration, and recently contributed to upcoming publications on these topics. She is currently a partner in the construction and engineering practice group of Singapore-based law firm, Harry Elias Partnership LLP, and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an Associate Mediator at the Singapore Mediation Centre.
Amanda Koh Jia Yi practices construction law at Eldan Law LLP, a leading construction and infrastructure law firm at the forefront of construction law developments in Singapore. She regularly acts for many stakeholders in the construction industry, including government agencies, developers, contractors and major international consultants. She has extensive experience in handling adjudication, arbitration and court litigation. Some of the leading court cases that Amanda has been involved in include Ang Cheng Guan Construction Pte Ltd v Corporate Residence Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 9, Audi Construction Pte Ltd v. Kian Hiap Construction Pte Ltd [2018] SGCA 4, and Shimizu Corporation v Stargood Construction Pte Ltd [2020] SGCA 37. She has also published works on construction law in the Academy of Law’s online journal, the SAL Practitioner.
Timothy Yong Wei Jie is a member of the Construction & Engineering Disputes practice group at TSMP Law Corporation, one of the leading construction law firms in Singapore. He advises developers, contractors and architects on both contentious and non-contentious matters, and has extensive experience in a diverse spectrum of construction and infrastructure projects, ranging from mixed-used developments, hospitals and railway and tunneling projects to conservation shophouses and commercial factories. He has been actively involved in cases before all levels of the Singapore Courts as well as in arbitration proceedings, and also specializes in adjudication and adjudication review applications under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment.