In brief 2024 saw a number of significant rulings in Singapore that have provided clarity on issues such as the definition of completion for construction works and the limitation period for latent defects, as well as issues surrounding the application and interpretation of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2004 (“SOP Act”). As readers may know, the SOP Act is fundamentally a statutory regime to facilitate cash flow in the construction industry.…
Overview and Key Provisions In brief On 27 December 2024, the Construction Industry Security of Payment Ordinance (CISPO) was gazetted, following a nine-year consultation process. This long-anticipated legislation will cover construction contracts entered into on or after 28 August 2025. Similar legislation has been in place for some time in various other jurisdictions, such as Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. CISPO seeks to remedy improper payment practices in the construction industry by improving contractual…
Written records are of primary importance in construction projects. Not only do they obviate disputes as to alleged happenings, but they also help focus the parties’ attention on any potential adjustment of the contract sum. In Vim Engineering Pte Ltd. v. Deluge Fire Protection (SEA) Pte Ltd. [2021] SGHC 63, the General Division of the Singapore High Court (SGHC) held that a contractor is not entitled to claim for variation works that were carried out pursuant to…
In Range Construction Pte Ltd v Goldbell Engineering Pte Ltd [2021] SGCA 34, the Singapore Court of Appeal (SGCA) considered, for the first time, whether an employer has the right to set off its claim for liquidated damages against a contractor’s payment claim in an adjudication under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (SOPA). The contractor’s payment claim was submitted on 2 December 2019, and the applicable statute was the pre-amendment Building and Construction…