The Construction industry in Singapore was amongst the
first affected by COVID-19, with contractors reporting difficulties
in getting plant, equipment and personnel out of China after
Chinese New Year.
Things have gone from bad to worse and, except for some projects
which are deemed essential, all building works in Singapore have
now ceased for the "Circuit Breaker Period", except for
some exempted works such as maintenance of structural safety,
vector control and environmental protection.
Often the underlying construction contract will deal with a
situation such as this where the works are effectively stopped by
Government Order and it is important for contractors and suppliers
who have been affected by the cessation order to look at their
rights under the applicable law and contract in their entirety
before deciding how to proceed. It may well be that
contractual remedies, such as force majeure or applicable
contractual clauses given entitlement to additional
