TSMP Law Corporation co-head of construction & engineering Derek Loh commented in a 17 February 2021 BT article about the transformation of the built environment sector.

To achieve a decisive transformation, he said “mindsets have to change, in particular (on) how risks are shared or to be shared, as opposed to how they are avoided or circumvented”.

He also commented that in the current contracting structure for the built environment sector, “risks are passed from one party to the next, with each player higher in the chain seeking to pass as much risk as possible downward”.

But the government could instead change the contracting regime to one that encourages partnering and alliancing, he said.

Other initiatives suggested by Derek include providing incentives for early completion instead of relying solely on disincentives in the form of liquidated damages.