H.J.J.G.L. [2021] No. 288

Circular on Further Promoting the Reform Work of the Review of Construction Drawings andDesign Documents of Engineering Construction Projects in Shanghai

All districts’ constructionadministration (transportation) commissions, health commissions, civil defense offices,water bureaus, landscaping and city appearance bureaus, administrative committeesof specific areas, the relevant agencies:

In pursuant with the requirements of ImplementationOpinions of the General Office of the State Council on Full-Scale Launch ofReform of the System of Review and Approval of Engineering ConstructionProjects (G.B.F. [2019] No.11), Circular of the Shanghai MunicipalLeading Group of the Reform Works of Review and Approval System forConstruction Projects on Printing and Issuing the Work Plan of the ShanghaiMunicipality for Comprehensively Deepening the Reform of Review and ApprovalSystem for Construction Projects and Continuously Optimizing the BusinessEnvironment, and other relevant documents, to further promote the reform ofthe review system of construction drawings and design documents of engineeringconstruction projects in Shanghai, to strengthen the accountability of project owners,geotechnical study companies, design companies, to improve the quality and efficiencyof the review of construction drawings and design documents, and to ease theburden on the market entities in a tangible way, hereby we notify you of the relevantmatters as follows:

I.             Overall requirements

(I) Guiding thoughts

For implementingthe important concept of “the city is built by the people, the city is for the people”in depth, taking the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with ChineseCharacteristics for a New Era as guidance, with the goal of promoting themodernization of governance system and capability of the government, with the directionof facilitating a better, faster, and more convenient business environment, we willkeep transforming government functions, streamlining administration, anddelegating power. Taking into consideration the overall work deployment of the reformof business environment of dealing with construction permits in Shanghai, under the premise of ensuringthe quality of geotechnical study and design of construction projects, we will continueto deepen the reform of the review system of construction drawings and designdocuments, steadily expand the coverage of the reform, effectively promote theimplementation of the "four unifications" of the review and approval system of constructionprojects, and tangibly enhance the sense of rewarding of the enterprises.

(II) Reform goals

Under the premise of ensuring the quality and safety baselineof construction projects, we will further benchmark against the advanced experience and practicesof cities in the world, with the principle of "highlighting priorities, differentiatedmanagement, strengthening responsibilities, and strict supervision", explore to establish andimprove the risk-based differentiated management model for the review ofconstruction drawings and design documents.

  (III) Contents ofthe reform

    We willgradually push forward the reform of the differentiated review of constructiondrawings and design documents, require construction, geotechnical study, anddesign entities to assume their responsibilities, strengthen interim-and-ex postsupervision, and continuously optimize and enhance the businessenvironment. We shall eliminate the owner-commissioned review of constructiondrawings and design documents of low-risk industrial projects with private investmentsin the Shanghai municipality, adjust to the adoption of interim-and-ex-post supervision,and based on this, we further expand the scope of reform to all industrial projects,and public buildings, low-grade municipal roads, small-scale pumping station projects,supporting houses to landscaping and pumping gate projects, and other projects belowcertain scale.

II.           Reform measures

(I) Implementingdifferentiated management

We shall adopt the differentiated management approachto the review of construction drawings and design documents of new, alteration,or expansion building projects and infrastructure projects in the Shanghai municipality.According to the factors such as project type, project scale, technical difficulties,etc., we shall establish the positive list of projects that can be exempt from thereview of construction drawings and design documents (Please refer to the appendixfor details).

For projects within the scope of list, we adopt the writtencommitment system on geotechnical study companies and design companies, and thecertificate of construction drawing review shall no longer be used as a prerequisitefor the issuance of construction permits for construction projects.

For projects beyond the scope of list, we still adoptthe system of “joint review of construction drawings and design documents of multiplespecialties” in accordance with the relevant provisions of the city strictly.

(II) Strengthening interim andex-post supervision

 For projects within the scope oflist, in accordance with the principle of the division of work, the municipaland district construction administration departments, and administrative committeesof special areas commission the full-coverage review of the quality of constructiondrawings and design documents to the construction drawing review agencies authorizedby the municipal housing and urban-rural development through the way of unifiedgovernment procurement.

(III) Standardizing the time limits for quality review

For a project within the scope oflist, a commissioned construction drawing review agency shall complete thequality review of construction drawings and design documents in accordance witheffective codes, standards, and management requirements, within the stipulatedtime limit after the project obtaining its construction permit. The specifictime requirements are as follows:

Industrial projects: for a project with a construction area of 10,000m2 or below, the review shall be complete within 3 working days after theconstruction permit is issued;for a projects with aconstruction area between 10,000m2 and 50,000m2 (including 50,000m2), the review shallbe complete within 7 working days afterthe construction permit is issued;for a projects with a construction area greater than 50,000m2, the review shallbe complete within 10 working days afterthe construction permit is issued.

Public building projects: the review shall be complete within 3 working days after theconstruction permit is issued.

Urban branch road projects: the review shall be complete within 5 working days after theconstruction permit is issued.

Small-scale water supply and drainage pumping station projects: the review shall be complete within 5 working days after the constructionpermit is issued.

Supporting houses to pump gates of water resources projects or landscapingprojects: the review shall be complete within 3 working days after the construction permit is issued (or filing of the commencement of construction).

(IV) Issuing online the review result

Where construction drawingsand design documents of a project pass the review, the construction drawing reviewagency shall issue online the review certificate on the Shanghai Construction Projects Review and ApprovalManagement System (hereinafter referred to as the "Review and Approval Management System"), and digitally sign and stamp the electronic drawings and related documents. The reviewopinions of the construction drawing review agencies shall be deemed to be the reviewopinions of the relevant administrative departments.

Where the construction drawings and design documents of a project fail the review, the construction drawingreview agency shall issue online a clear nonconformityreview opinion, indicating what requirements the documents have failed to meet,the rectification opinion, and the specific time to complete the rectification.The rectified construction drawings and design documents should be resubmitted tothe Review and Approval Management System for review once again.

Where a project fails to rectify within the prescribed time, the constructionadministration department or transportation, water works, landscaping departmentsshall legally order the project owner to cease the construction or occupancy, andsuch misbehavior shall be counted as bad credit record. Only does a project owner’srectification pass the review and a review certificate is issued, the owner mayrestart the construction work.

III.         Safeguarding measures

(I) Requiring the entities to assume theirresponsibilities

We will fully require the entities including geotechnical study companies, designcompanies and their professional technicians to assume their responsibilities toensure the quality of design documents. In addition to requiring the entities toimprove their internal management and control, the Municipal Commission of Housingand Urban-rural Development, together with the Municipal Commission of Transportation,the Municipal Civil Defense Office, the Municipal Water Authority, the MunicipalLandscaping and City Appearance Bureau, etc., shall improve the detailed interimand ex-post supervision measures for the review of construction drawings and designdocuments, and deepen the reform work of the review of construction drawings anddesign documents in the city.

(II) Ameliorating the credit evaluation mechanism

The Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development shall formulatethe measures for credit evaluation of geotechnical study and design companies whoare doing business in Shanghai, establish a blacklist of quality behaviors occurredin the geotechnical study and design business based on the bad credit information,implement the punishment-based differentiated administration of the related entitiesand individuals during the interim and ex-post supervision, such as increasing therandom reviews, restriction on market access, tender and bidding activities, andother measures, according the credit mechanism, to strictly require the market entitiesof geotechnical study and design trade to assume their responsibilities, and toeffectively ensure the quality and safety of construction projects.

(III) Optimizing the contents of the constructiondrawing review

In accordance with the requirements of the State Council to carry out the full-scalereform of the review and approval system for construction projects, we focus onsafety reviews such as structural safety, building fire prevention, buildingenvironment, etc., explore to optimize and limit the contents of review. Based onthe revision of the key technical review points of construction drawings by theMinistry of Housing and Urban-rural Development and the revision and formulationof local codes, we shall develop the municipal key technical review points of constructiondrawings.

(IV) Exploring the promotion of intelligent review

We will further optimize the review methods, explore the promotion ofintelligent review of construction drawings. Relying on the Review and ApprovalManagement System, we will research and develop one-stop construction administrationintelligent review and approval function based on BIM technology, improve the unified database of rules and standards of datainteraction, to form a BIM technology-based review and approval system. We will explore theimplementation of automatic review and supervision of 3D models and exported constructiondrawings and design documents, promoting the transition from the review of constructiondrawings to the review of models. 

(V) Safeguarding the funds

The review cost of design quality of construction drawings shall be coveredby the municipal and district construction administration departments and the administrativecommittees of special areas, and shall be settled on a quarterly basis in principle.The required funds shall be included in the departmental budgets, among whichthe review costs of municipal departments shall be included in the special fundof interim and ex-post supervision in the Municipal Geotechnical Study and DesignAdministration Center.   

Municipal Commissionof Housing Urban-rural Development

MunicipalTransportation Commission

Municipal HealthCommission

Municipal Civil DefenseOffice

Municipal Water Authority

Municipal Landscapingand City Appearance Bureau

May 18, 2021