Soh Lip San is a partner in the firm’s International Arbitration Practice and Construction & Projects Practice.

He leads a team of lawyers in the Band 1 projects and energy practice which covers all aspects of construction and engineering law in Singapore and the region. 

With over 26 years of experience, Lip San specialises in handling major construction and engineering disputes, both in Singapore and across the region. He has advised on and acted as counsel in various disputes. His expertise in dispute resolution ranges from matters that are subject to litigation in court, both domestic and international arbitration (be it ad-hoc or under institutional rules such as SIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL, CIETAC), adjudication, expert determination and mediation.

Lip San has significant experience in non-contentious work for the building and engineering sector and stands out for his ability in resolving complex issues. He is involved in the structuring of various procurement models for the infrastructure and engineering sector, both in the public and private sectors. He is also involved in non-contentious work and has worked on various iconic PPP projects and transactions across various sectors including waste and power, data centres, hospitals, transportation infrastructure and so on.

Lip San has been named as a Senior Accredited Specialist for Building and Construction Law in the inaugural batch of the Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme. The voluntary accreditation scheme was introduced in 2017 as a mark of recognition for legal practitioners who have gained professional excellence in their areas of practice.

Lip San is featured as a “Recommended Practitioner” in the Who’s Who Legal: Construction 2024 guide and a “Distinguished Practitioner” in the 2024 asialaw individual and firm rankings. He has also been ranked as a leading lawyer for Construction by Chambers Asia Pacific since 2015, a “Highly Regarded” lawyer for Project Development by IFLR1000(2018 to 2024) and leading lawyer for Energy & Infrastructure  by IFLR1000(2014 to 2017). He is also recognised in Best Lawyers for Arbitration and Mediation (2020 to 2023), Construction Law (2020 to 2023) and International Arbitration (2018 to 2020) and for Projects & Energy in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2018), as well as in other publication such as Asialaw Profiles, The International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyer.

He has been lauded for being “very practical and possessing deep knowledge about both construction and arbitrations”, and “very good at drafting and good at strategising”, “an outstanding lawyer and a trusted advisor”, “a safe pair of hands whose counsel is sought often and valued by both our in house lawyers and executives alike” and “a lawyer of the top order, one whose dedication to his work and his clients is exemplary.”

EXPERIENCE

Project / Infrastructure Financing Transactions

  • Advised on various high value infrastructure projects ranging from combined cycle power plants, PPP projects to Singapore’s fifth desalination plant which will be built on Jurong Island.
  • Advised various government bodies on front end structuring for laws and regulations required for infrastructure projects initiated under public private partnership models as well as concession agreements.  
  • Represented a leading water solutions company in a CIETAC arbitration over a joint venture dispute in relation to a cutting edge plant project in China.
  • Advised a main contractor on the design, delivery and procurement process for various data centres in Singapore which involved contracting models as well as dispute avoidance on unique engineering issues such as reliability of power systems.
  • Represented a state owned Chinese entity in an ICC arbitration regarding the development of an Indonesian project. The dispute was governed by French law and involved sums in dispute exceeding US$50 million.
  • Represented a major Japanese trading house in various ICC arbitrations regarding engineering and construction issues over a railway project. The disputes are governed by Taiwanese law and involved sums exceeding US$100 million.
  • Advised clients on multi-million dollar energy project disputes (in excess of US100 million) in Indonesia ranging from coal mines to geothermal power plants that are subject to arbitration under UNCITRAL rules.
  • Drafted and advised on contract documentation and specific clauses during tender and tender negotiation of three power stations, including a combined cycle power plant (2 units x 370 MW) with a contract sum of over S$800 million.
  • Drafted and advised on contract documents and specific clauses during tender and tender negotiation of a light rail system, contract sum, in excess of S$500 million.
  • Advised an Australian aviation company in drafting, reviewing, advising and negotiation of a design, build and lease agreement with an international contractor in relation to the development of its multi-million integrated private jet sales and maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Seletar Aerospace Park.
  • Involved in the provision of S$525 million (US$316 million) financing for a 500MW cogeneration project.
  • Acted for a statutory undertaker in a dispute with their contractor over the design and build construction of a fully automated sewerage treatment plant and water reclamation facility (value – over $180 million).
  • Acted and advised various main contractors on tunnelling works in relation to projects as varied as the development of a deep tunnel sewerage and underground train networks to cable transmission projects.
  • Acted in arbitration and litigation in relation to specialised manufacturing projects such as multi-cell / duo-cell cement silo and the clean room for a wafer fabrication plant.
  • Advised and represented parties involved in major industrial accidents ranging from tower cranes to collapses of large structures.
  • Regularly advised on significant engineering issues associated with alleged defects such as the fire rating of composite panels as well as the durability of building materials.
  • Advised on regulatory issues in the construction sector ranging from the use of technology to prefabricated systems to dealing with sustainability concerns.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Contributor, Hudson’s Building & Engineering Contracts, 12th Edition 
  • Contributor, “Workplace Safety and Health – A Practical Guide”
  • Author, GAR Construction Arbitration know-how – Singapore chapter

Location(s)

Practice Area(s)

Qualifications

  • LLB (Hons), National University of Singapore
  • Advocate and Solicitor, Singapore
  • Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (FSIArb)
  • Accredited Adjudicator (under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (Cap 30B)
  • Snr. Acc. Spec. (Building & Construction), Singapore Academy of Law

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