Risk assessment in underground rail international construction joint ventures in Singapore

International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) have been widely used in large-scale infrastructure projects all over the world. Since the 1980s Singapore has experienced the use of ICJVs in underground rail projects. This study aims to assess the risks associated with the underground rail ICJVs in Singapore. To achieve this objective, a comprehensive literature review was carried out, producing a list of 27 risks. Categorizing them into internal, external, and project-specific risks, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 33 contractors to collect the likelihood of occurrence and magnitude of impact of risks, and using the data, risk criticalities of each risk were calculated. Based on the risk criticality values, risks were ranked within and across the three categories. The analysis result reported "disagreement on some conditions in contract" as the most critical risk. In addition, project specific risks obtained the highest risk criticality value. With the help of this study, ICJV partners can identify the most critical risks and thus develop risk mitigation measures. Also, the findings from this study provide a comprehensive picture of risks for the companies intending to participate in underground rail ICJVs in Singapore.