Authorities accelerating pace of approval for key technology projects

The Weifang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone is taking measures to enhance government service quality in the hopes of bringing more vitality to the local economy.

The local government is making efforts this year to reduce key project approval time, strengthen communication between government officials and businesses, and encourage government staff members to take more responsibility in their work. The moves have received positive feedback from businesses.

Reduced processing time

Zhang Gang, a department head from Goertek, said he never imagined receiving approval for the company's dormitory building construction within 20 days.

In previous years, companies could wait for half a year to get final project approval because the applications have to be processed by many administrative departments, according to local officials.

"The project's early approval will help a great deal in the development and market occupation of the company," Zhang said.

To accelerate key project approval speed, the zone classifies its approval procedures into five steps - project establishment, land use planning, project planning, construction permission and appraisal tests - and then integrates the submission, notification, approval and charging of fees, to be finished within a designated time period.

Chen Jiancheng, director of the zone's government affairs service center, said 21 project applications have been processed under this new model so far this year. Total investment in those projects reached 2.99 billion yuan ($446.51 million).

Oriented service

This year, the zone has specifically required some senior government officials to establish direct contact with key companies to ensure they could react to businesses' requests effectively. The effort is expected to benefit 329 key projects and 205 businesses in the region this year, according to the zone.

Guo Hui, a staff member of the zone's department of organization, who is in charge of government staff members' work performance assessment, said that responsible government officials have to visit businesses every week and collect the latest information about projects. They are also required to provide solutions to problems that occur during construction processes.

The mechanism has helped businesses solve more than 100 problems in less than half a year, according to local officials. Feedback shows that businesses are satisfied with this new mechanism.

"Officials from the zone's Economic Development Bureau visit us several times in a month. They help us to go through possible problems in advance so our new projects can progress more smoothly," said Yang Chunhong, a project manager from the Weifang Special Steel Group.

The zone has developed mechanisms including error-tolerance techniques and new performance assessment arrangements to encourage government staff members to be more responsible. On the other hand, it has mechanisms to evaluate and penalize officials and government employees whose productivity fails to meet the required standards.

Guo Yajing contributed to this story.

(China Daily 08/08/2017 page12)