All district construction administration departments, administrative committees of special areas, review and approval centers for projects with private investment:

To speed up the transformation of government functions, improve and optimize business environment for construction permission, and continuously increase the level of construction quality and safety, pursuant to the spirits of Circular on the Guiding Opinions on Improving the Quality Assurance System and Enhancing the Quality of Construction Projects (G.B.H. Document No.92 of 2019), Circular on the Handover of Responsibilities for the Review and Final Inspection of Fire Protection Design (J.K.H. Document No.52 of 2019), Pilot Implementation Plan for Reform of the System for Construction Project Approval in Shanghai (H.F.G. Document No.14 of 2018), and the New Round of Overall Reform Work Plan to Improve the Business Environment of Dealing with Construction Permits in Shanghai to Meet the Standards of the World Bank (H.F.B. Document No.5 of 2020), considering the reality of Shanghai, we worked on further optimizing quality and safety supervision and integrated final inspection for construction projects. Now the details are as follow:

I. The management of quality and safety supervision and integrated final inspection of completed construction (hereinafter referred to as “integrated final inspection”) for new constructions, alternations, expansions of buildings and non-transportation municipal infrastructures (hereinafter referred to as “buildings”) in the Shanghai municipality should be implemented according to this circular.

II. Municipal and district construction administration departments and their authorized agencies (hereinafter referred to as “construction administration departments” are responsible for the management of construction quality and safety in Shanghai and shall lead to organize relevant departments who are responsible for specialized inspections to carry out the integrated final inspections of construction projects, in which the management of construction quality and safety supervision and integrated final inspection for projects with private investment shall be implemented and promoted in a coordinated way under the lead of municipal and district Review and Approval Centers for projects with private investment. 

III. The quality and safety of buildings in Shanghai should be under differentiated management based on the risk classification of construction projects.

The risks of construction projects are classified into five categories, which are low risk, medium-low risk, medium risk, high risk, and super high risk. The risk levels are determined according to nature, construction floor area, height, technical requirement, use of new technology, intended use, location, surrounding situation, crowd density, and other risk factors. Please refer to the Shanghai Construction Engineering Risk Classification and Inspection Standards (hereinafter referred to as “Risk Standards”) for specific risk levels) (Annex 1).

IV. During construction, owners should organize construction companies and supervision companies to carry out technical inspections of quality and safety risks (hereinafter referred to as “technical inspection”). Owners take the primary responsibility for the technical inspections，construction companies, and supervision companies carry their duties for the technical inspections according to the division of responsibilities.

V. Technical inspection should be carried out based on the quality and safety risks at the stages of pile foundation, foundation, structure, decoration, curtain wall, and energy conservation. The quality risks should be determined based on critical parts and/or engineering processes. The safety risks should be identified according to the classification of more dangerous parts and items of projects. A technical inspection may be carried out at the same time when a construction company conducts self-inspection of the construction process, and a supervision company performs a tour of site supervising inspection.

VI. The process of technical inspection includes risk identification, implementation of inspection, and conclusion of the inspection.

(I) Risk Identification

Risk Identification should be completed before a project begins and output a list of quality and safety risks.

If a project is at a risk level, which is either low risk, medium-low risk, or medium risk, the project leader of the owner should organize project manager of the construction company, project head of design company, and chief supervisor of the project to carry out the risk identification. 

If a project is at a risk level which is either high risk or super high risk, the project leader of the owner should organize the technical manager of the construction company, project head of design company, and chief supervisor of the project to carry out the risk identification.

(II) Implementation of Inspection

If a project is at a risk level which is either low risk, medium-low risk, or medium risk, the project leader of the owner should organize project manager of the construction company and chief supervisor of the project to carry out inspections of quality and safety risks at each stage of construction.

If a project is at a risk level which is either high risk or super high risk, the project leader of owner should organize technical manager of construction company (or authorized professional technician or project manager of construction company) and chief supervisor of the project to carry out inspections of quality and safety risks at each stage of construction.

(III) Conclusion of Inspection

After an inspection at each stage of construction, an owner company, together with a construction company and a supervision company, produces a technical inspection report, which shall reflect the technical inspection and rectification of issues. At the stage of completion inspection, a completion inspection team consisted of owner company, geotechnical study company, design company, construction company, and supervision company should check and verify the technical inspection reports.

VII. During construction, the construction administration departments should carry out the quality and safety supervising inspection in terms of the frequency and milestones of inspections regulated in the risk levels and supervising inspection standards. If there exists either construction participants not carrying out statutory technical inspections, quality and/or safety accidents happened, failure of fulfilling commitment, or other illegal acts, the construction administration departments shall increase the times of random inspections at their discretion to strengthen the concurrent and ex-post supervision.

The quality and safety supervising inspections, as mentioned above, should check the implementation of the national and municipal laws, regulations, rules and technical codes relating to the construction quality and safety, quality and safety behaviors of construction participants, and the implementation of quality and safety management system and responsibility system. 

VIII. For a low-risk project, the construction administration department shall eliminate the first quality and safety supervision meeting and notify the project owner of items and requirements of quality and safety supervision online during the stage of construction permission.

During the construction of a low-risk project, the construction administration department shall inspect only one time. For low-risk industrial buildings with private investment (i.e. “low-risk industrial projects with private investment”), after the completion of structural works and before the start of decoration works, the Review and Approval Centers for Private Investment Projects shall take the lead to organize a one-time joint inspection participated by relevant administration departments. 

During inspections, the construction administration departments shall focus on inspection of the safety of structural works, construction of more dangerous parts and items of projects, implementation of technical inspections taken by construction participants, and fulfillment of the commitments made about the quality and safety management of a construction site when construction starts.

IX. After a project is completed, the owner company should organize to carry out the completion inspection of building projects (hereinafter referred to as “completion inspection”) in time. The completion inspection should include a review of construction documents, on-site inspection of construction quality, etc. For private low-risk industrial projects with a construction floor area of less than 2000 square meters and without a basement, it’s not required to review the geotechnical study documents; for residential projects, final inspection of individual units shall be carried out.

X. After a project meets completion inspection requirements, an owner company should organize to write a completion inspection report in time. The report should have the following sections including project introduction, the construction process carried out by the owner company, the assessment of geotechnical study (if the construction floor area of a project is less than 2000 square meters and there is no basement, the assessment of geotechnical study shall be exempted), design, construction, and supervision, completion inspection’s time, procedure, content, and type of organization, opinions of the completion inspection, and review of the technical inspection reports.

The construction administration departments shall not carry out on-site supervising inspection of how is the completion inspection organized, what are the process and the codes and standards for the completion inspection. These inspection items shall be randomly inspected in the integrated final inspection.

XI. If a project meets the completion inspection requirements, the owner company shall apply for the integrated final inspection to the governmental department through the Shanghai Construction Projects Review and Approval Management System (hereinafter referred to as “Review and Approval Management System”).

For low-risk projects, after construction administration departments or review and approval centers for private investment projects accept the application, in addition to the requirement of Term X, and according to Circular on Further Simplifying Final Inspection of Small-scale Construction Projects in Shanghai (H.J.J.G.L. Document No.118 of 2019), they shall take the leading role in organizing the integrated final inspection and complete it within 5 working days. Especially for low-risk industrial projects with private investment, after review and approval centers for private investment projects accept the application, according to Circular on Printing and Issuing of the Implementation Measures on Further Optimizing the Process of Final Inspection of Completed Construction and Real Estate Registration for the Low-risk Industrial Projects with Private Investment in Shanghai (H.G.H.Z.Y.J. Document No.33 of 2020), they shall take the leading role in organizing the integrated final inspection and complete it within 3.5 working days.

For projects other than low-risk ones, after the construction administration departments who work as leading departments accept the application, in addition to the requirement of Term X, and according to Measures for the Integrated Final Inspection of Completed Construction Projects in Shanghai (H.Z.J.G.F.L. Document No.10 of 2018), they shall take the leading role in organizing the integrated final inspection and complete it within 15 working days.

It’s highly encouraged to extend the adoption of one-stop integrated final inspection of completed construction to other construction projects beyond low-risk industrial projects with private investment in Shanghai. After accepting its project, the own company makes a one-time application for integrated final inspection on the review and approval management system. The review and approval center shall take the leading role in organizing relevant specialized departments to carry out an on-site integrated final inspection. If the integrated final inspection is passed, a letter of compliance for integrated final inspection of completed construction shall be issued online at once.

XII. During an integrated final inspection of a completed construction project, the construction administration department is responsible for the final inspection of construction quality, focused on the formality check of how is the completion inspection organized, random checking the implemented codes and standards for completion inspection, an inspection of fire prevention or registration of fire prevention. For residential projects, it should be focused on selective inspections of the functionality of building quality. The detailed requirements of selective inspections of the functionality of building quality shall be set out by the municipal construction administration department.

XIII. After the integrated final inspection is passed, the construction administration departments or review and approval centers for private investment projects shall organize relevant specialized departments who participate in the integrated final inspection, relying on review and approval management system, to issue Letter of Compliance for Integrated Final Inspection of Completed Construction, Shanghai Construction Project Quality Supervision Report (Annex II) and opinions of the completion inspection by other specialized departments. 

XIV. When carrying out the integrated final inspection, if a construction administration department finds out that a project violates certain statutory construction codes and standards, they shall order the owner company to make rectification and afterward apply for an on-site reinspection to the construction administration department. For residential projects, the construction administration departments shall order owner companies to make rectifications and organize completion inspection again.

If finding out that there is fraudulent behavior in acceptance and inspection of individual units or completion inspection, the construction administration departments, the construction administration departments shall order the owner company to organize acceptance and inspection of individual units and completed construction again. For construction projects which apply for second-time integrated final inspection, the construction administration departments shall have the selective inspections of the quality of building functionality multiplied.

XV. If a project meets the re-organized completion inspection by the owner company, the owner shall apply again for the integrated final inspection. If it meets the requirements of the integrated final inspection, a building project can be put into operation; if it fails to meet the requirements of the integrated final inspection, a building project shall not be put into operation.

If the construction administration departments find out the misbehaviors of construction participants such as failing to fulfill their commitments or other fraudulent behaviors, they shall keep such behavior in the company or individual credit record, and impose penalties including rectification, prohibiting the adoption of conditional pass, prohibiting the adoption of defect-tolerated acceptance, or revoking the Letter of Compliance for Integrated Final Inspection of Completed Construction Project; If a behavior is severe, the company shall be blacklisted. 

XVI. This circular shall be effective on the date of issuance and the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development is responsible for providing clarifications. If there is any inconsistency among Circular on Further Optimizing Quality and Safety Management of Small-scale Construction Projects in Shanghai (H.J.J.G. Document No.131 of 2019), Shanghai Construction Engineering Quality and Safety Risk Classification and Inspection Standards (H.J.A.Z.J. Document No.76 of 2018)and this circular, this circular shall prevail.

Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development

January 20, 2020