Circular on the Implementation of Joint Supervising Inspection during the Construction Process of Low-risk Industrial Projects with Private Investment in Shanghai

All relevant units:

In order to improve and optimize the business environment of construction permitting in Shanghai, under the spirits of the Regulation of Shanghai on Optimizing Doing Business Environment, Circular of the Office of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Approving 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), we’ll implement the measure of joint supervising inspection during the construction process of low-risk industrial projects with private investment in Shanghai, the relevant matters are hereby announced as follows:

I.                 Division of Responsibilities

The Construction Project Review and Approval Center in every district or the administrative committee of special area (hereinafter referred to as “the Review and Approval Center”) is responsible for comprehensive coordination and takes the leading role in organizing the joint supervising inspection participated by the authorities of construction, planning and natural resources, and water and sewage services agency during the construction process of low-risk industrial projects with private investment within its jurisdiction.

      During the joint inspection, the construction administration department is responsible for the quality and safety inspections for the construction projects according to its prescribed functions; the planning and natural resources administration department is responsible for the planning inspection of the construction projects according to its prescribed functions; the water and sewage services agency is responsible for the site investigation and verification of the water and sewage services and other related technical services.

II.               Scope of Implementation

The low-risk industrial projects with private investment in this circular are referred to, in the Shanghai Municipality, new constructions, alternations, expansions of standardized factories, general warehouses, and private industrial projects deployed according to the three-tier industrial space layout of “industrial bases-industrial community-scattered industrial plots,” and a project of this type should be of a gross construction area less than 10,000 square meters, of a height no more than 24 meters, single-function, with simple technical requirements, and under the filing-based management mechanism. However, projects involving either flammable and explosive, toxic and harmful features, or other public-safety-impacted features, projects with significant ecological environment impact, projects involving landscape protection, transportation protection, and other special project types are excluded.

III.             Key Points of Work

(I)      Considering the features of low-risk industrial projects with private investment, reducing inspection times, and assuring construction quality, excluding the emergencies like quality or safety accidents happening on the construction sites, the authorities shall implement a scheduled joint supervising inspection after the building structure is complete and before the decoration work starts. The joint supervising inspection includes construction quality and safety inspection, process inspection in terms of planning and natural resources, and site investigation, verification, and other technical services relating to water and sewage services. The single procedure of site investigation and verification by the water and sewage services agency has been eliminated and included in the joint supervising inspection.

(II)  When applying for construction permits, an owner should fill the estimated date of structure completion of the project online; if there is a change of completion date, the owner should adjust the date in time, if not adjusting in time, the owner will assume the corresponding responsibility.

(III)  When issuing the construction project planning permit and construction permit at the same time, the Review and Approval Center shall issue the Notification Letter of Joint Supervising Inspection of the Low-risk Industrial Projects with Private Investment in Shanghai online, notifying the owners of the inspection items and requirements.

(IV)  According to the date of structure completion notified by an owner, the Review and Approval Center will decide the time of joint supervising inspection and inform the owner of the time either by phone or text message; Meanwhile, relevant staffs from the authorities of construction administration, planning and natural resources, and water and sewage services agency shall be notified of the time of inspection at least 5 days earlier. If an inspector doesn’t participate in the joint inspection after being informed, the authorities that the inspector works for will be deemed to find no problem in the process inspection.

(V)  The Review and Approval Center shall well organize the joint supervising inspection; inspectors from the authorities of construction, planning and natural resources, and water and sewage services agency shall strictly follow inspection requirements of the Notification Letter of Joint Supervising Inspection for the Low-risk Industrial Projects with Private Investment in Shanghai and relevant departments to carry out the supervising inspection and the site investigation of water and sewage services.

(VI)  The authorities of construction, planning and natural resources, and water and sewage services agency shall feed back the inspection results to the Review and Approval Center in the form of Inspection Record (Appendix 1) within 3 working days. The Review and Approval Center is responsible for collecting the inspection results from every department, generating the Summary Table of Joint Supervising Inspection of Low-risk Industrial Private Projects in the Construction Process in Shanghai (Appendix 2), and feeding back to the owners the day after receiving the inspection results from every department. The joint supervising inspection report shall be input into the Shanghai Construction Projects Review and Approval Management System by the Review and Approval Center.

(VII)  The construction administration department is responsible for carrying out the follow-up actions if issues are found in terms of the behaviors of quality and safety management, safety situations of the construction site, and the quality of construction works; The administration department of planning and natural resources is responsible for carrying out the follow-up actions if the construction works are found non-compliance with the construction project planning permit or other issues in the inspections. If rectifications are needed, the relevant administrative departments shall issue the Letter of Rectification Opinions, after the owners complete the rectification works, the relevant administrative departments shall organize the re-inspection following the regulations.

IV.            Administrative Requirements

(I)  The Review and Approval Center shall clarify the operational mechanism and the standards of performance evaluation; The construction administration, planning and natural resources administration, and water and sewage services agency shall assign dedicated staffs to participate in the joint supervising inspections.

(II)  After an owner obtains a construction permit, the Review and Approval Center shall assign a contact person for the joint supervising inspection of this project, who will be responsible for the coordination among the owner and specialized inspection departments.

(III) The construction administration, planning and natural resources administration, and water and sewage services agency shall provide support to the joint supervising inspections organized by the Review and Approval Center, facilitate communication, and share site inspection materials and information; Unless essential, there won’t be inspections and law-enforcement activities other than the joint supervising inspection.

This circular shall come into force as of the date of issuance.

Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development

Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources Bureau

Shanghai Water Authority

April 17, 2020

Appendix 1:

Record of Joint Supervising Inspection Results of Low-risk Industrial Private Projects in the Construction Process in Shanghai

Appendix 2:

Summary Table of Joint Supervising Inspection of Low-risk Industrial Private Projects in the Construction Process in Shanghai