​Lunar New Year Greetings – The Year of the Fire Horse

As we welcome the Lunar New Year, we extend our warmest wishes to our clients, colleagues, and friends. We wish you good health, clarity of purpose, and continued success in the year ahead.

The year ahead marks the Year of the Fire Horse, a rare combination in the lunar calendar traditionally associated with momentum, visibility, and decisive action.

The construction industry is anticipated to be galloping at full capacity in the year ahead. Figures from the BCA indicate total demand projected at S$47 billion to S$53 billion driven by the Changi Airport Terminal 5 and Marina Bay Sands expansion.

As we begin the new year, we remain grateful for the trust our clients place in us and for the professionalism of our colleagues and partners. In a year marked by momentum and heightened visibility, our commitment remains unchanged: to provide clear, rigorous, and commercially grounded legal advice, anchored in Singapore’s legal framework and responsive to regional and global developments.

We look forward to working closely with you in the year ahead.

We wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous Lunar New Year. 马到成功 — may your endeavours meet with success.

Ser Kim Koi v GTMS Construction Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC (A) 34 (“Ser Kim Koi”)
Concurrent Delay: A Tip of the Hat to Malmaison
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​Introduction
 
This is one of the judgments in a prolonged dispute between the owner, his architect and main contractor in a project for the construction of three good class bungalows at Leedon Park. 
 
The disputes culminated in a lengthy sixty day trial where the contractor and the architect claimed against the owner for unpaid work.  
 
The owner counterclaimed against the contractor and the architect alleging that they had entered into an unlawful means conspiracy against him by, amongst others, improperly granting extensions of time, certifying as satisfactory deficient works that were not rectified, and certifying the project as being complete when it was not safe for occupation.
 
The owner lost the case at the High Court and lodged an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
 
The judgment of the Court of Appeal (CA) is the subject of this blogpost. The CA judgment is voluminous – 254 pages – and covers a broad spectrum of issues.
 
For this blogpost, our focus lies on the CA’s remarks on concurrent delay. 

In our blogpost dated 3 Feb 2022, we had hoped that COVID-19 would be defeated by the tiger. And so it was. We are delighted to welcome the rabbit, a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity.
 
The construction industry is slowly but surely getting back on its feet. The total construction demand for 2023 is predicted to range from $27 billion to $32 billion. 60% of which is expected to come from public sector projects. [See: BCA press release dated 12 Jan 2023 at this link]

On the adjudication front, the number of adjudication applications lodged in 2022 was around 240, which is about 100 less than the 340 applications in 2021. We expect the numbers to rise again in 2023 in tandem with the rise in construction demand.
 
Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous year of the Rabbit.
 
Tan Joo Seng
5 March 2023