CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nancy Zhang, Xiaoying Tian and Liangqian Ying, JunHe LLP
4.2 Development Process, Challenges and Enforcement The approval process for the development of a new building and/or infrastructure project can be divided into four phases: • phase 1 for project initiation and land-planning permission, which includes approval or filing of the project, and issuance of the construction land planning permit ( 建设用地规划许可证 ); • phase 2 for engineering and project permission, which includes project design examination, and issuance of the construction works planning permit ( 建设工程规划许可证 ); • phase 3 for construction permission, which includes design confirmation of fire-protection and civil air defence, and issuance of the construction works construction permit ( 建筑工程施工许可证 ); and • phase 4 for completion acceptance, which includes completion acceptance of zoning, land, fire protec - tion, civil air defence and other relevant matters, and the completion acceptance filing. Refurbishment and expansion of an existing build - ing also require the relevant approval and permits, which generally include the construction works plan - ning permit ( 建设工程规划许可证 ), the construction works construction permit ( 建筑工程施工许可证 ), and the com - pletion acceptance filing. Local authorities may also issue detailed implementation orders. In addition, for any modification to urban and rural zoning, the relevant authorities that prepared such urban and rural zoning is required to solicit public opinion by holding hearings or using other meth - ods. In the event of any modification to the approved detailed construction plan or master plan of a project design, the relevant zoning authorities must solicit the interested parties’ opinions by holding hearings or using other methods. Furthermore, any entity or individual is entitled to report any instances of zon - ing non-compliance to the competent zoning or other relevant authorities. If a real estate developer objects to the approval deci - sion of the competent authority, it may submit applica - tions for administrative review to the local government or the administrative department at the higher level.
Construction Law and Regulation on the Quality Man - agement of Construction Projects. In accordance with these laws, local governments are responsible for preparing the urban planning and zon - ing, and for determining, in a reasonable manner, the development scale, steps and construction standards of the urban locality. The design, appearance and method of construction are governed by the national standards promulgated by the relevant authorities of the state council, such as: • the General Standard for Civil Buildings; • the Unified Standard for Energy-Saving Design of Industrial Buildings; • the Code for Fire-Protection Design of Buildings; and • the General Standard of Quality Control in the Con - struction of Buildings and Municipal Projects. Generally, these regulations and rules apply to both the construction of a new building and the refurbish - ment of an existing building. Local governments may promulgate detailed implementing rules according to the relevant national regulations and policies. The development and designated use of real estate are generally governed by the competent authorities of the state and local governments, including: • the Development and Reform Commission (DRC), responsible for the approval or filing of the project at the initiation stage; • the PNRC, responsible for planning and zoning approval, the grant of land use rights, and the issu - ance of land use right certificates; and • the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Author - ity (HUDA), responsible for preliminary design approval, issuance of the construction works construction permit ( 建筑工程施工许可证 ), and filing for completion acceptance.
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