Full Profile
Eugene is a construction disputes specialist, having appeared as counsel in every level of the Singapore courts, from the state courts to the court of appeal. He also advises and represents clients in arbitrations under ICC, SIA, SIAC, VIAC and UNCITRAL rules and in adjudications under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act. Eugene is Singapore Academy of Law appointed Senior Accredited Specialist in Building and Construction Law, and he sits as arbitrator and is an accredited specialist mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Centre.
In addition to his contentious experience, Eugene regularly advises on the review, drafting and negotiations of engineering, procurement and construction contracts and their related agreements including performance bonds, warranties and parent corporate guarantees. He has also contributed to the Singapore Public Sector Construction Contract: Commentary on the Public Sector of Construction (7th Edition) textbook, and Law and Practice of Construction Contracts (5th Edition).
Eugene is well regarded in the market, receiving recognition as a Leading Individual by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and similarly ranked by Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific, Benchmark Litigation, Who’s Who Legal and Doyle’s Guide in their respective 2022/2021 Singapore Construction guides. Clients have said that “Eugene Tan is exceptional in his ability to manage complex international arbitrations that can be both fact-intensive and complex in legal issues.” (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022). He is also highly rated by peers who laud his adept handling of complex cross-border construction disputes and transactions (Who's Who Legal South East Asia 2021).
Experience
Non-contentious
- Energy: Acting for Hyflux Ltd and its subsidiaries in a PPP project to construct a 318,500 m3/day (water) desalination plant and 411 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Singapore, including the drafting and negotiations for the EPC contract, O&M contract and LTSA agreement of the power plant.
- Healthcare: Acting for the owners in the drafting, advising and negotiations of the construction management, construction and procurement contracts for the building of a USD 500 million biotechnology facility plant in Singapore.
- Telecoms: Advising Telekomunikasi Indonesia International Pte Ltd, a data services provider, on its project concerning the construction of the first data centre in the Singapore Data Centre Park in Jurong, Singapore, worth SGD 115 million. The work done included drafting and preparing a full suite of contract documents based on Singapore standard forms for the appointment of the main contractor and consultants, as well as performance bonds and novation agreements; and advising the client on issues arising during the execution of the Project.
- Industrial Processing Plant: Advising a Chinese engineering company on two sets of EPC contracts for a project involving the construction and subsequent expansion of a polypropylene compound and specialties facility in Thailand.
- Real Estate: Acting for the Singapore main contractor, in drafting and negotiating the design and build contract for the proposed erection of a 5-story single-user warehouse development with ancillary office and ramp up facilities in Singapore, the contract for which was based on the REDAS standard form.
Contentious
- Energy: Acting for CRW Joint Operation (Indonesia), an Indonesian contractor consortium in an ICC arbitration claim for USD 29 million arising over a DAB award and disruption and prolongation claims in the construction of a gas pipeline in Indonesia. It spawned two separate Court of Appeal cases. An Arbitration Award was successfully obtained in favour of the clients. We also represented clients in proceedings before the Singapore High Court brought by PGN to try and set aside the Arbitration Award.
- Energy: Acting for the owners in an SIAC arbitration under ICC rules against its Chinese SOE contractor for an estimated claim of USD 200 million following the termination of an EPC contract for a coal-fired power plant in Indonesia.
- Mining: Represented one of Indonesia’s largest state-owned engineering and construction companies in multiple SIAC arbitrations arising out of a suite of design, construction and installation contracts for Indonesia’s largest Out-Of-Pit crushing and conveying system installed in a mining project and involved in multiple contracts with Indonesian and English governing laws.
- Rail / Urban Transit: Acting for various international contractors in dispute board proceedings and various arbitrations (SIAC and VIAC) arising out of the Hanoi Pilot Metro Line Project and Ho Chi Minh City MRT Project.
- Rail / Urban Transit: Acting for a Korean contractor against its design consultants in an ICC arbitration for a claim of USD 39 million arising from an engineering design liability dispute over the Taiwan High Speed Railway.
- Renewable Energy: Acted for a specialist subcontractor, providing advice in relation to an ICC arbitration, in a dispute with the main contractor on issues of delay and changes to work scope in relation to an ongoing offshore windfarm project in the Taiwan Sea
- Industrial Process Plants: Acting as counsel for the employer of a Mongolian cement plant in an ICC arbitration, seated in Paris, against its Chinese contractor in respect of defects in the structure and foundations of the plant, as well as defending the client against claims made by the contractor in respect of outstanding payment.
- Adjudications: Acted for contractors (both as claimants and respondents) in various disputes and adjudication (SOP) proceedings arising out of a range of different infrastructure and building projects in Singapore
