A reform to merge planning permission for construction land and for construction projects was introduced recently in the Lin-gang Special Area – located in East China's Shanghai city – to cut red tape and speed things up.

On March 15, the division of planning and natural resources in the area's administration issued planning permission for construction at a primary school.

The initiative represented the first time that both sets of planning permission had been combined in the country.

Previously, it used to take 10 working days to obtain planning permission for construction land and five working days for the permit for construction projects – so 15 working days were necessary to complete the whole approval process.

After the reform, the approval process will be reduced to five working days, which is seen as a key measure to optimize the business environment in Lin-gang.

Officials show the new planning permission for construction projects in the Lin-gang Special Area Administrative Center on March 15. [Photo/WeChat account: shlgguanweihui]