To earnestly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, further deepen the reform and development of the construction industry, optimize its industrial structure, enhance the quality and safety standards of construction projects, and promote high-quality development in the sector, the following implementation guidelines are proposed in accordance with documents such as the “Opinions of the Provincial Government on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Provincial Construction Industry” (Su Zheng Gui [2023] No. 14), and in light of the actual conditions of our city:

I. Optimize the Industrial Structure of the Construction Sector and Promote Its Expansion into Longer Value Chains and Broader Fields

(1) Expand the scope of construction activities. Support construction enterprises in entering the infrastructure construction sector. All localities and departments shall designate a specific proportion of projects in their annual infrastructure construction project plans to support construction enterprises in participating in infrastructure construction bidding through consortia, provided they meet the relevant qualification requirements. This primarily includes: (1) Large-scale infrastructure projects such as rail transit, local railways, expressways, water conservancy projects, and power and energy projects; (2)Other large-scale infrastructure projects: government-invested municipal infrastructure projects, or those where state-owned capital holds a controlling or dominant stake, with a project cost of 50 million yuan or more. Project performance achieved through consortia may be recognized in future bidding processes once the portion actually undertaken by the enterprise has passed final acceptance inspection. Support construction enterprises in participating in industrial project development; encourage deep integration between construction enterprises and our city’s “Four Clusters and Eight Chains” industries, such as next-generation information technology; actively leverage local advantages to participate in the construction of our city’s high-end manufacturing projects and provide high-quality services.(Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Transportation Bureau, Municipal Water Resources Bureau, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau; except for Article 14, the implementation opinions below must be implemented by municipal and district governments, as well as the Zhenjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone and High-Tech Zone Administrative Committees, and are not listed separately)

(2) Promote the integrated development of the construction and real estate industries. Effectively ensure the quality and safety of real estate development projects, fully leverage the service and contract fulfillment strengths of the city’s construction enterprises, and encourage them to participate in general contracting for real estate projects.Standardize the tendering and contracting practices for housing construction projects. For specialized works such as pile foundation engineering and interior decoration, general contractors may, in accordance with project requirements and applicable laws, engage in specialized subcontracting. Real estate developers shall not separately tender the aforementioned specialized works within the scope of general contracting, nor shall they designate specific subcontractors. Upon application by real estate developers, housing construction projects may be implemented through phased permitting and phased construction. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Municipal Development and Reform Commission)

(3) Promote Engineering General Contracting and Full-Process Engineering Consulting. Following the principle of prioritizing state-owned capital and advancing steadily, projects where state-owned capital holds a controlling or dominant position shall take the lead in implementing the engineering general contracting model, provided that the construction scope is clearly defined and technical solutions are mature. Integrate services required for construction projects—including project planning, engineering design, bidding agency, cost consulting, engineering supervision, and project management—to encourage consulting firms to provide full-process, integrated services.Construction projects funded by state-owned capital or in which state-owned capital holds a dominant position should take the lead in implementing full-process engineering consulting. Pilot programs for the architect-led responsibility system will be explored, and a self-review commitment system for construction drawing review will be implemented for such projects. This will fully leverage the leading role and technical advantages of architects throughout the entire construction process, ensure engineering quality and design effectiveness, and continuously improve project quality and investment returns. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Audit Bureau)

II. Cultivating Key Players in the Construction Industry and Enhancing Enterprises’ Market Competitiveness

(4) Cultivating Leading and Key Enterprises. Establish a system for routine liaison and service provision to construction enterprises, providing regular contact, guidance, and assistance in resolving issues encountered during market operations, while offering support in areas such as qualification applications, project guarantees, and excellence awards. Encourage leading and key enterprises to extend their operations along the upstream and downstream industrial chains, providing comprehensive and integrated services in fields such as investment and financing, industrial projects, and operations and maintenance, gradually transitioning from the construction of building products to the development and operation of such products.Vigorously develop the headquarters economy in the construction sector. Adopt approaches such as “attracting investment through projects” and “attracting enterprises through projects” to guide construction enterprises with strong comprehensive capabilities, high operating revenues, and those providing high-end construction technologies, equipment, products, and services to establish operations in our city, or to set up regional headquarters or subsidiaries here. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Municipal Commerce Bureau, People’s Bank of China Zhenjiang Branch, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission)

(5) Support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Encourage central state-owned enterprises, local state-owned enterprises, and leading local enterprises in Zhenjiang to establish partnership mechanisms with SMEs and private enterprises, leveraging their respective comparative advantages to enhance the market expansion capabilities of SMEs and private enterprises.Increase support for the development of small, medium, and micro enterprises in government procurement of construction projects. For government procurement projects subject to the Bidding Law, the competent budgetary units shall allocate at least 30% of the total budget for such procurement specifically for procurement from SMEs, with no less than 60% of this portion reserved for small and micro enterprises.For bidding projects where the competent budgetary unit has not reserved a specific quota for procurement from SMEs after coordination, if the comprehensive evaluation method is adopted, a certain percentage of bonus points shall be added to the price score of micro and small enterprises, or of joint bids formed by large and medium-sized enterprises and micro and small enterprises, in accordance with the law. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Data Bureau, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Municipal SASAC, Municipal Transportation Bureau, Municipal Water Resources Bureau)

(6) Accelerate the development of the construction talent pool. Relying on higher education institutions and professional training organizations, organize training for entrepreneurs to build a team of entrepreneurs capable of making decisions, taking initiative, and managing businesses effectively. Accelerate the implementation of Zhenjiang’s talent recruitment policies to encourage and support construction enterprises in recruiting and retaining a group of highly specialized construction professionals with strong management skills and advanced academic qualifications. Improve the education, training, and skills evaluation system for construction workers, promote the construction of employee skills assessment bases, and further enhance the professional competence of construction personnel.(Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau)

(7) Supporting Enterprises in Going Global. We will fully support enterprises in seizing major strategic opportunities presented by the Yangtze River Delta integration, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the “Belt and Road” Initiative, and implement a “going global” strategy focused on key regions, specialized fields, and major engineering projects.Organize leading enterprises in our city to actively participate in cooperative exchange activities organized by national and provincial governments, departments, or industry intermediary organizations, particularly by holding construction sector cooperation promotion conferences in countries along the “Belt and Road” route to provide opportunities and build platforms for enterprises to expand into domestic and international markets. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Commerce Bureau, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Municipal Development and Reform Commission)

III. Innovate Construction Methods and Enhance the Modernization Level of the Construction Industry

(8) Promote Smart Construction. Orderly advance the integrated application of BIM technology throughout the entire process of construction project planning, surveying, design, construction, and operation and maintenance, and specify the relevant costs within the total investment of construction projects.Vigorously promote the research, development, manufacturing, and widespread application of advanced manufacturing equipment, smart devices, and smart construction site-related equipment to enhance the performance and efficiency of various construction tools and improve the level of intelligent construction. Projects that adopt smart construction and meet the criteria for excellence will be given priority for nomination for the provincial “Yangzi Cup” Award for Quality Engineering. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Municipal Finance Bureau)

(9) Promote green construction. Leverage the innovative and exemplary role of government-invested projects to prioritize the use of recycled construction waste products, create a number of green construction demonstration projects, and, in conjunction with urban renewal, simultaneously implement energy-saving and green retrofits of existing public buildings.Promote the application of new construction methods such as prefabricated construction; actively advance the certification, adoption, and application of green building materials; and promote the recycling of building materials and the reduction of construction waste at construction sites. Improve the green construction industrial chain and cultivate a group of engineering general contracting enterprises capable of providing comprehensive green construction solutions, as well as supporting enterprises in survey and design, construction, component manufacturing, and information technology. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Urban Management Bureau, Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau)

IV. Focus on Key Areas of Industry Regulation and Continuously Optimize the Business Environment for the Construction Industry

(10) Deepen reforms in bidding and tendering. Safeguard the autonomy of tendering entities and ensure they fulfill their primary responsibilities. In housing construction and municipal infrastructure projects across the city where state-owned capital holds a controlling or dominant stake and bidding is legally required, promote the “separation of evaluation and award” system and the “preparation system for tendering entities’ evaluation criteria.”The following types of tenders may adopt the “separation of evaluation and award” approach to determine the successful bidder: design scheme tenders for construction projects; engineering procurement and construction (EPC) tenders; supervision tenders with a single contract estimated value of 3 million yuan or more; construction tenders for large-scale or larger projects with complex technical requirements; design tenders for government-centralized construction projects; and construction tenders for government-centralized large-scale or larger projects with complex technical requirements (excluding projects managed by social agencies).Tendering entities shall organize a comprehensive review of bid documents after bid opening and before bid evaluation to further enhance the efficiency and quality of bid evaluation. Optimize bid evaluation methods for construction tenders, shift away from a single-price competition model, and promote the principle of “quality commensurate with price.” Under the comprehensive evaluation method, implement a two-stage bid opening and evaluation process for technical proposals and price proposals, and implement a system requiring project managers to present and defend their proposals. This will further standardize the construction market order and promote the healthy development of the industry.(Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Data Bureau, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission)

(11) Ensure Project Fund Disbursement. Standardize the project owner’s implementation of systems for advance payments, wage payments, progress payments, and final settlement. Advance payments shall not be less than 10% of the total contract value; the failure to complete settlement audits shall not be used as a justification for delaying project settlement or withholding survey, design fees, and construction payments.Implement interim settlement during construction. Both the contracting and subcontracting parties shall, in accordance with the time or progress milestones specified in the construction contract, measure, confirm, and pay for construction work that has passed stage-by-stage acceptance during the construction process. For construction contracting in state-invested projects, relevant regulations regarding construction payment settlement and the proportion of progress payments must be strictly enforced; progress payments shall not be less than 80% of the value of completed work.Regulatory bodies responsible for bidding, contract consolidation, and other oversight functions shall include provisions regarding project payment and settlement in the scope of their review of bidding documents and construction contracts. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Audit Bureau, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Municipal Data Bureau, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau)

(12) Optimize the industrial development environment. Improve the release of material price information, establish an early warning system for abnormal fluctuations in building material prices, and guide the building materials market toward price stability. Continue to conduct law enforcement inspections in the construction market, investigate and punish illegal acts such as unlawful contracting, subcontracting, illegal sub-contracting, and fronting in accordance with the law, and standardize the order of the construction market. Establish a new credit-based regulatory mechanism for the construction market, implement credit-based grading and classification management, and apply differentiated supervision in matters such as bidding and tendering and supervision and inspection based on the credit status of market entities.Continue to deepen reforms of the approval system for construction projects; issue separate construction permits for pile foundation works in housing construction projects. Establish a collaborative governance mechanism for construction taxation; relevant authorities such as finance, housing and urban-rural development, and taxation should strengthen communication and coordination, promptly share information on project construction, payment of construction funds, and tax collection, improve business-friendly and public-convenience service measures, and form a synergistic service effort.Fully leverage the roles of relevant enterprises, institutions, industry associations, and academic societies to carry out policy promotion and implementation, technical guidance, exchange and cooperation, and the dissemination of achievements for high-quality development in the construction industry. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Taxation Bureau)

(13) Enhance the Quality and Safety Standards of Construction Projects. Encourage all parties involved in construction projects to create high-quality projects and implement a system of “higher quality, higher price.” Deepen the standardization of construction project quality and safety management, and explore the implementation of regional assessments of construction project quality levels. Optimize and improve the “Smart Quality Supervision” system platform to accelerate the digital development of construction project quality management. Improve the joint response mechanism for complaints regarding construction project defects, explore pilot programs for construction project quality insurance, comprehensively promote the public disclosure system for quality information in the construction sector, and strive to establish a new model of construction project quality supervision featuring collaboration among the government, the market, and society.Continue to carry out special campaigns on construction safety, strengthen the management of high-risk projects, establish a dual-prevention mechanism combining risk classification control and hidden hazard investigation and rectification, and improve the safety production accountability system for all employees of construction enterprises. Deepen the standardization of construction safety production and strictly implement the system of practical manuals for construction safety management. Promote the dynamic evaluation system for safety and civilized construction measures in state-invested construction projects. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau)

V. Strengthen Support Services and Enhance the Supply of Key Resources for the Construction Industry

(14) Provide financial and insurance support. Financial institutions shall continuously optimize the corporate financing environment and the allocation of credit resources; for eligible enterprises applying for loans, they shall reasonably determine credit limits and expedite credit approval processes; for enterprises with sound development prospects, banking institutions are encouraged to appropriately relax collateral requirements and issue unsecured loans; fully leverage our city’s improved mechanism for diagnosing and assisting private enterprises with financing, include eligible construction enterprises within the scope of assistance, and help construction enterprises mitigate financial risks.Actively promote a system of bid bonds, payment guarantees for construction projects, performance bonds for contractors, and wage payment guarantees for migrant workers, primarily relying on bank guarantees and insurance policies. Administrative authorities at all levels—including construction and human resources departments—as well as project owners must not refuse guarantees provided through bank guarantees or insurance policies under any circumstances. (Responsible Units: People’s Bank of China Zhenjiang Branch, Zhenjiang Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau)

(15) Strengthen Incentives and Support. Rewards shall be granted to construction enterprises that achieve outstanding results in increasing construction output value, expanding into external markets, upgrading qualifications, winning project excellence awards, and advancing technological progress. Specific reward measures shall be formulated separately by the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department in conjunction with the Municipal Finance Department. (Responsible Units: Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Tax Bureau)

(16) Strengthen industry leadership. Governments at all levels shall comprehensively advance the transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development of the construction industry. They shall incorporate the development of the construction industry into economic and social development plans and annual work objectives, earnestly study and resolve major issues in the development of the local construction industry, and formulate and implement specific policy measures to support the development of the construction industry. (Responsible Units: Municipal and District Governments, and the Administrative Committees of Zhenjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone and High-Tech Zone)

These Opinions shall take effect on November 1, 2024, and remain valid until October 31, 2029. The “Implementation Opinions of the Zhenjiang Municipal People’s Government on Promoting the Reform and Development of the Construction Industry” (Zhen Zheng Fa [2019] No. 23) shall be repealed simultaneously.