A construction site in the Lin-gang Special Area [Photo/WeChat account: shlgguanweihui]

The Lin-gang Special Area – situated in East China's Shanghai – recently rolled out implementing rules for a reform of business investment approval procedures, which will first be used in engineering construction projects.

In July the special area got the green light to pilot the reforms for the wider city. The new business-invested project commitment system means that the government sets economic and technical indicators and industrial technical standards.

In the wake of the latest development – the issuing of the implementing rules – local officials said that in the future, business entities would have more liberty to invest in and construct projects in Lin-gang.

Decisions made by the company – such as how and when to promote a project or whether to adjust the plan in the process – will be more free and flexible.

In the past, enterprises investing in construction projects were required to obtain a raft of government approvals for the acquisition of land, design and construction approvals, to the completion of acceptances and other successive steps.

Under the new system, construction by companies is exempt from prior examinations and approval and contractors can design and build independently according to their promised content.

They need only to submit relevant materials, as well as report implementation progress and special circumstances, online. After the building company completes the filing, the system automatically issues a filing receipt and can conduct follow-up procedures.

For those companies using the new commitment system, submitting a letter of commitment is regarded as having obtained the relevant approval documents.

The submitted materials have also been further simplified. There is no need to fill in personal identities that were required in the original examination and approval process.

It is understood that suitable subjects that can qualify to be involved in the pilot are potentially quite extensive.

An online management platform for the commitment system has been developed for enterprises to upload relevant materials. Supervising departments will only get involved if they find non-compliance.