We had a really good sign-up for this webinar event, which is unsurprising seeing as how topical the discussion matter was in the new normal we find ourselves living in at this time. It was an honour to chair the webinar, which involved insightful opinions and explanations from Simon Bellas – Partner, Jones Day and Jonathan Shahady – Chairman, TBH Group.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year has led to challenges for us all. This is especially true for those working in the construction industry, which has suffered badly. Singapore as a whole took swift actions to curb the impact of the pandemic, which included specific measures to assist the construction industry with the introduction of the Temporary Measures Act.

The Act provided an avenue for contractors to claim some relief for critical delays suffered as a consequence of the pandemic. Although providing early clarity and welcome relief for many, the elephant in the room is that COVID-19 is fundamentally changing the conditions upon which projects are being undertaken and completed.

As such, although the law has sought to calm what could have been a drastic situation for many working in the construction industry, the reality is that many issues remain uncertain and will need to be carefully considered and addressed… hence the interest in the main topic of this webinar – disruption.

In addition to the topics covered in this webinar, we again invited attendees to join a virtual networking session. As with previous sessions, the model was well received and provided an open platform for members to keep in touch. I thank Simon and Jonathan for giving up their time to prepare and present at this webinar. Special thanks is also due to my fellow council member, Trevor Lam – Principal, Head of Singapore, TBH, who was heavily involved in the organisation of this webinar.