Infrastructure Dispute Management Protocol

Singapore Infrastructure Dispute Management Protocol

The Singapore Infrastructure Dispute Management Protocol (SIDP) is a comprehensive tool to help parties proactively manage differences to prevent them from escalating into disputes, and minimise the risks of time and cost overruns.

The SIDP was launched in 2018 by the Singapore Ministry of Law, as part of efforts to establish Singapore as the infrastructure hub of Asia.

Based on an Asian Development Bank report, Asia will need more than US$1.7 trillion (S$2.3 trillion) of infrastructure per year from 2016 to 2030. As infrastructure projects are typically complex and involve multiple parties, differences and disputes are sometimes unavoidable and can result in delays and higher costs, if not managed well. It was found that infrastructure, mining and oil and gas projects have on average cost 80% more than budgeted and run 20 months late.

The SIDP was developed by a Working Group comprising eminent private sector infrastructure and dispute resolution specialists, the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC), building on international best practices and introducing novel features to address the challenges complex infrastructure projects face. Some of the key features of SIDP are:

Proactive dispute prevention approach: The Dispute Board is appointed from the start of the project, rather than only after disputes have arisen. It helps anticipate issues and prevent differences from snowballing and escalating into full-blown disputes which become difficult and expensive to resolve.
Wide range of dispute resolution methods : Should disputes arise, the Protocol provides a wider range of methods which can help address the disputes at hand. These include mediation, opinion and determination.
Fulll professional and administrative support: The Protocol provides full professional and administrative support through the SIMC and the SMC, which can help with identifying and appointing Dispute Board members as well as with meeting, escrow and other administrative services.

Under the SIDP, the developers, contractors and other parties of large infrastructure projects will from the start of the project appoint a Dispute Board comprising up to three neutral professionals who are experts in relevant fields such as engineering, quantity surveying and law. The Dispute Board will follow the project from start to finish and proactively help to manage issues that may arise, through a range of customised dispute avoidance and resolution processes.

Parties can opt for a Dispute Board comprising one, two or three expert professionals depending on the complexity and needs of the project.

To find out more:

To access the Singapore Infrastructure Dispute Management Protocol, please click here

For information about the SMC SIDP panel, please click here
If you are a foreign government or company looking to drive development in your country or a Singapore-based firm looking to access regional infrastructure opportunities, you may wish to click here may wish to find out more about how Infrastructure Asia can partner you by connecting you with the relevant domain experts and sub-segment champions amongst developers, professional services and technical and financing solutions to meet the specific needs of each project, bridging knowledge gaps and uplift capabilities in project development, financing and implementation, or providing expertise on project scoping and conceptual structuring to improve the viability and success of projects.