Construction

Recognition

For a number of years, the legal publication asialaw has highly recommended the firm for the practice area of Construction and in the last few years has ranked the firm in the top tier of “Outstanding” in Construction, commenting that: “[t]he construction practice at Raja, Darryl & Loh wins plaudits from the market…”. 

Our Construction litigation work has also been ranked in Tier-1 by Benchmark Litigation in 2021 – 2023. Added to that, another leading publication Legal 500 Asia Pacific has rated the firm very highly for our Real Estate & Construction practice for many years.

The firm won the award of “Construction and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year” at the ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2024.

Published testimonials from clients include the following:

“Raja, Darryl & Loh is very detail-oriented and has an excellent grasp of legal issues and commercial issues. They are able [to] work within tight deadlines without compromising work quality.” – Construction 

“Optimistic and professional in handling issues and people.” – Construction

It can safely be said that we are acknowledged as one of Malaysia’s market leaders in Construction law practice.

Services

The firm has over 3 decades of experience in Construction law practice. Through the years, we have acted for all players in the construction industry, including developers, main contractors, sub-contractors, concessionaires, landowners, consultants and engineering companies. Currently, we advise the Malaysian operations of at least 4 of the largest construction companies in the world.

Led by 4 partners, the Construction team is one of the largest practice groups that focus on Construction law in any Malaysian law firm. We provide specialist, innovative, practical, commercially driven and strategically motivated advice at every stage of the construction process from preconstruction phases and bid preparation advice to contract drafting and project implementation.

Disputes that arise and cannot be settled are resolved through mediation, adjudication, arbitration or litigation. We have significant expertise in international arbitration.

The types of cases and issues we have encountered and managed are manifold. In a case in the High Court where we acted for the developer, partner Hor Shirley successfully argued that the main contractor’s non-compliance of the conditions precedent in the Extension of Time and Loss and Expense provisions is fatal; and that the architect did not have either actual or ostensible authority to waive compliance with the conditions precedent. There had been no prior decision on these issues. Subsequently, we procured the dismissal of the main contractor’s appeal to the Court of Appeal as well as the dismissal of the main contractor’s application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

In another case, we successfully acted for a concessionaire where the High Court ruled on legal issues pertaining to the powers of the Construction Industry Development Board under the Lembaga Pembangunan Industri Pembinaan Malaysia Act 1994. We understand that this decision is the first on the issues in question and it will be significant to other concessionaires in the same position. 

We work efficiently, deliver value and are easily accessible, allocating the right lawyer to the right task to ensure high quality yet cost-effective service. Being part of a commercial full-service firm with integrated practices means that our clients have access to the experience and skills of all our lawyers across a broad spectrum of practice areas. 

Some matters in which we have been/are currently involved include: 

Projects

• Various Hi-Tech plants built for multinational corporations – including a mega semiconductor fabrication facility in Penang, an assembly and test factory in Kuala Lumpur and another in Malacca, a wafer plant in Penang and a medical equipment plant in Penang
• A tile-manufacturing plant
• Duopharma Biotech Bhd’s state-of-the-art plant and warehouse in Klang, Selangor.
• Ann Joo Steel’s iron-making plant in Penang, which entailed a plant construction contract and a lease-with-build agreement for a gas production facility
• The construction of the new headquarters for a bank in Kuala Lumpur
• The development of Kuantan Maritime Hub
• Naval International Marine Terminal
• Preparing standard construction contracts for several public listed developers
• Review and drafting of various contracts for a multinational corporation in respect of the construction, design, furnishing, installation, operations and maintenance of a manufacturing facility in Malaysia
• Review and drafting of a template construction contract for a multinational corporation for its projects in Malaysia

Disputes relating to:

• Kuala Lumpur International Airport
• A major petroleum-based explosion and fire at Tanjung Langsat Port, Johor
• A gas explosion in a major shopping mall in Melaka
• 2 fire explosion incidents at the RAPID Pengerang Oil and Gas complex
• Defective foundations in a major newsprint mill in Pahang
• Two mobile offshore oil and gas production units in Sarawak 
• A major international pharmaceutical plant in Negeri Sembilan 
• Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 Integrated Complex
• A Biogas Power Plant project
• 8Conlay project
• Astaka Bukit Senyum
• Malacca Harbour City
• LRT3 Project
• A mobile offshore production unit (MOPU) for use in offshore oil and gas extraction and production
• A fire at the Penang Bridge