Recently, at the construction site of the Carbon-Based Solid Waste Resource Utilization Comprehensive Project of Shandong Xinke Thermal Power Co., Ltd., located in the Lingang Industrial Park of Zhanhua District, Binzhou City, civil construction and equipment installation are being carried out in cross-operation, engineering machinery shuttles back and forth, and a scene of bustling activity unfolds before the eyes.

The Carbon-Based Solid Waste Resource Utilization Comprehensive Project of Shandong Xinke Thermal Power is a 2026 provincial key project in Zhanhua District and an important vehicle for the local development of the circular economy and the promotion of comprehensive solid waste disposal. The project uses gasification fly ash generated by gasifiers as raw material and relies on system integration technology to achieve clean and efficient cascade utilization of coal. It can dispose of approximately 300,000 tons of general industrial solid waste gasification fly ash per year, is expected to achieve annual operating revenue of 240 million yuan, and create employment for 120 people, injecting strong momentum into regional solid waste resource utilization and green, low-carbon transformation. The transformation from procedural bottlenecks to accelerated construction is a vivid reflection of Zhanhua District's continuous optimization of its business environment.

For a long time, the approval chain for engineering construction projects has been long and involved many stages, and construction could only start after the complete set of drawings had been reviewed. Enterprises often faced long waiting periods and missed the golden construction season, which not only prolonged project construction cycles but also increased enterprises' time and capital costs, making it a "roadblock" on the path of many projects. How to solve the problem of "slow start of construction" and enable key projects to wait less and land faster? The Administrative Approval Service Bureau of Zhanhua District targeted the pain points and difficulties in approval, boldly explored and innovated, and launched a reform package of "dismantling barriers, breaking shackles, and eliminating blind spots," from which the "pile foundation first" approval model emerged.

Dismantling service barriers and precisely matching enterprise development demands. Zhanhua District has built diverse communication platforms and set up an "Entrepreneurs' Discussion Room" to listen face to face to the demands of key projects such as Jinhui New Energy and Haineng Thermal Power. Relying on the public satisfaction follow-up center, it conducts follow-up visits to assess the effectiveness of completed business, building a complete closed-loop workflow of "demand collection—problem transfer—tracking and supervision." All collected opinions and suggestions have been implemented and rectified, accurately and thoroughly identifying enterprises' urgent difficulties and concerns and finding the right direction for reform.

Breaking process shackles and unleashing the speed-enhancing effect of approval reform. Zhanhua District has broken the inherent approval model and built a "pile foundation first" system centered on "phased construction permits + parallel approval + notification and commitment system," splitting projects into two major stages—pile foundation engineering and main works—for simultaneous advancement. For non-critical materials such as planning permits and energy-saving reviews, notification and commitment and acceptance with missing materials are implemented, bidding farewell to the old model of "construction can only start when the full set of drawings is ready." The approval time limit has been compressed from the original 15 working days to within 3 working days. The reconstruction of the approval process allows pile foundation construction and main works approval procedures to proceed in parallel, securing valuable construction time for a large number of key projects.

Eliminating regulatory blind spots and building a solid defense line for project quality and safety. Faster approval does not mean looser regulation. Zhanhua District adheres to grasping both efficiency and safety, establishing joint review and joint site survey task forces, and building a full-chain approval-regulation linkage mechanism of pre-review, in-process inspection, and post-completion acceptance. It refines expert review standards and improves technical review rules, promotes the standardization of technical review, and effectively achieves "open yet controllable," realizing a win-win outcome of improved approval efficiency and quality and safety assurance.

In Zhanhua, more and more projects are enjoying the reform dividends of pile foundation first and land leasing for certificate processing, accelerating the transformation from blueprints on paper into real-world scenes. "We will continue to deepen the reform of the engineering construction project approval system, continuously refine the 'pile foundation first' reform model, improve full-cycle project services, exchange reform intensity for enterprises' sense of gain, and inject a steady stream of approval momentum into the building of 'Civilized Zhanhua, Famous City of Bohai,'" said Geng Liang, Party Secretary and Director of the Administrative Approval Service Bureau of Zhanhua District.

Source: Publicity Department of the CPC Zhanhua District Committee, Binzhou City