Ministry of Law Calls Construction Tender for Restoration Project

28 FEB 2017

28 Feb 2017 Posted in Press releases

  1. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) today called tender for construction services to restore the conserved building on 28 Maxwell Road. The tender will cover architectural, conservation, engineering, lighting and soft landscaping works, which will be directed by award-winning architect Mok Wei Wei and heritage conservation expert Ho Weng Hin.

  2. MinLaw is refurbishing 28 Maxwell Road to support the expansion of Maxwell Chambers. The expansion will help meet growing regional demand for dispute resolution services and boost Singapore’s position as an international dispute resolution centre.

  3. 28 Maxwell Road will add 120,000 square feet of space to Maxwell Chambers and triple its current size. When completed in 2019, the new building will house, over four floors, about 50 new offices for international dispute resolution institutions, arbitration chambers, law firms and ancillary legal services.

Scope of works

  1. Constructed in 1928, 28 Maxwell Road was designed by Frank Dorrington Ward, the Government Architect of the Straits Settlements Public Works Department, when Singapore was a British colony. The building was gazetted as a Conserved Building by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2007. The building is currently on lease to The Traffic Pte Ltd. The tenancy will expire on 30 April 2017.
  1. The project will restore the heritage of the conserved building and modernise it for its new function as a premier international dispute resolution complex.
  1. Heritage restoration will be a key component of the scope of works. The successful construction firm will work with the architect and heritage conservation expert on the repair and restoration of the building’s existing masonry works, ornamental plasterwork, and the reinstatement of salvaged historic elements of the building. Works include: a) repairing and restoring the timber louver windows and cast-iron rainwater downpipes that were removed or fallen into disrepair in the last two decades; b) restoring five courtyards in the 161-metre-long building to their original open-to-sky design and landscaping them, c) restoring the building’s external façade to its former off-white colour; and d) lighting the building at night to highlight its unique architectural features.
  1. The new building will provide about 50 new offices, to complement the hearing facilities at Maxwell Chambers’ current premises. To serve its new function, major construction works include: a) a new link-bridge to provide seamless connection between 28 Maxwell Road and Maxwell Chambers’ current premises; b) a new annex block to provide an additional 3,230 square feet of office space; and c) a new corridor block to widen the currently narrow corridor.

Tender Porcess

  1. A tender briefing for interested firms will be held on 6 March 2017. The tender exercise will close on 4 April 2017. Works are expected to complete in the first quarter of 2019.
  1. The tender will be evaluated through a two-envelope process for quality and price. Tenderers would need proven track record in restoration work for a conserved building. The financial health of the tenderer will also be a critical criteria to the tender evaluation.
  1. Mr Han Kok Juan, Deputy Secretary, MinLaw, who chairs the project steering committee, said “Since we announced the restoration project at the start of this year, we have received queries from many construction firms. We expect healthy response to this tender. Price is important, but we need also pay attention to quality. As this is a prominent conserved building, we hope to find a firm that would be sensitive to its rich heritage, and have the expertise to help us execute our vision to restore and transform it into a premier dispute resolution complex that will put Singapore on the world map.”

Supporting the expansion of Maxwell Chambers

  1. Maxwell Chambers is the world’s first integrated dispute resolution complex housing both best-in-class hearing facilities and top international dispute resolution institutions. Since its establishment in 2010, Maxwell Chambers has quickly become one of the most preferred hearing facilities in the world. In 2016, 212 arbitration cases were heard at Maxwell Chambers, an 18% increase over the 179 cases in 2015.
  1. The expansion of Maxwell Chambers into 28 Maxwell Road is part of MinLaw’s plans to support the growth of dispute resolution institutions in Singapore, which have seen significant increases in caseload. It will also attract more international institutions, arbitration chambers and law firms to Singapore.
  1. The expansion will help Singapore capture new opportunities in Asia, as regional demand for dispute resolution services continues to grow. It is one of a number of initiatives Singapore will roll out in 2017 to raise its position as an international dispute resolution centre to the next level.

MINISTRY OF LAW
28 FEBRUARY 2017

Last updated on 28 Feb 2017