SINGAPORE — To take on a soaring caseload and strengthen the Republic’s standing as an international dispute resolution centre, Maxwell Chambers — the world’s first integrated dispute resolution complex — will take over the adjacent Red Dot Traffic building from May 1.

The Law Ministry (MinLaw) announced yesterday that the expansion will triple the current size of Maxwell Chambers, by adding 120,000 sq ft in floor space. Restoration works led by award-winning homegrown architect Mok Wei Wei will kick off in May and conclude in 2019.

The new space will house about 50 new offices spread across four floors for international dispute resolution institutions, arbitration chambers, law firms and ancillary legal services. Meanwhile, the 10 hearing rooms and 12 preparation rooms in the current building will be used for commercial dispute resolution cases. An overhead bridge will be built to connect the two buildings.

“The expansion address calls from existing tenants for space to grow their operations, and accommodates a waiting list of potential tenants keen to establish a presence in Maxwell Chambers,” said MinLaw in a press release.

This would support the growth of dispute resolution institutions in Singapore, which have seen “significant increases” in caseload, and draw more international institutions, arbitration chambers and law firms here, it added. Maxwell Chambers heard 212 arbitration cases last year — 18 per cent more than the 179 cases in the preceding year.

Senior Minister of State (Law) Indranee Rajah said that one of the Republic’s key strengths as an international dispute resolution centre is its “neutral, stable” legal system, which has high-quality jurisprudence and is trusted by businesses.

“We will build on this and strengthen our ecosystem of laws, lawyers, institutions and infrastructure, so that we can better serve the needs of businesses and take our international dispute resolution services to the next level,” she said.

Two draft laws to encourage more dispute resolution work in Singapore will be debated in Parliament next week. The Civil Law (Amendment) Bill offers a framework for third-party funding here, so that businesses will have another option to finance international commercial arbitration.

The Mediation Bill, on the other hand, beefs up the enforceability of mediated settlements in a bid to support international commercial mediation work.

The Red Dot Traffic building was first built in 1928 and was the home of the Singapore Traffic Police Headquarters for over 70 years. The conserved building is currently on lease till end April to The Traffic Pte Ltd.

Tenants were saddened to hear that there would be no further extension to their lease, which had been extended several times previously.

Anchor tenant Red Dot Design Museum is in the midst of discussions over future plans. It will, however, remain in Singapore. Spokesperson Elvin Seah said that the last day to view the exhibitions will be on March 31, and the last Market of Artists and Designers (MAAD) — a monthly event organised on its premises — will be on April 7.

Ms Rachael Tan, director of market research firm Seesaw Market + Consumer Insights, will start hunting for a new office space in the vicinity in the weeks to come. “It’s very sad. I’ve been here for 10 years. When I started my company, this was the first place I had,” she told TODAY, adding that she would stay till the end of the lease for sentimental reasons.

8Hunters International, a recruitment agency, is also on the look-out for a new office nearby. “We’ll miss this place. It has such a homely vibe, and this is one place where you can dress down when you come to work, compared with other offices in the area,” said team leader Aloysius Choo.

“The beauty and vibe of this building will (be) very difficult to match,” said digital advertising agency Tinkle’s business development director Alvaro Quesada, who hopes to move to a shophouse next to “remind us of our time at Red Dot”.

Over at Lumina Communications, preparations have been made for an eventual move to a new location in Henderson.

Staff are already packing up their belongings, although the date of the move has yet to be fixed, said human resources and administrative executive Candice Teo.