Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a notice on the 2023 annual work situation of the pilot cities for intelligent construction.

The main contents of the notice are as follows:

I. Overall progress of the pilot work

Since the launch of the pilot, all pilot cities have closely focused on implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party and the Central Economic Work Conference, with the goal of developing intelligent construction and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry, established coordinated working mechanisms, increased policy support, and orderly advanced various pilot tasks, achieving positive progress and results.

(1) Establishing working mechanisms.All 24 pilot cities have established coordination mechanisms for the intelligent construction pilot work, of which 17 cities are led by responsible officials of the municipal government. A series of supporting policies on land, planning, finance, science and technology, talent, bidding and tendering, and evaluation and awards have been issued. 506 enterprises were included in the list of key intelligent construction enterprises for cultivation, of which 214 enterprises were approved as *** high-tech enterprises and 108 enterprises were approved as *** or provincial-level "specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative" enterprises. 758 intelligent construction pilot demonstration projects were announced, including 209 residential projects and 17 urban renewal projects.

(2) Achieving work results. The 24 pilot cities supported relevant units in launching the construction of 39 intelligent construction science and technology innovation platforms, including 2 *** platforms and 19 provincial and ministerial-level platforms. 105 scientific research projects related to intelligent construction were established, 7 technological research and development achievements obtained provincial-level or above first-set major technical equipment certification, and 10 technological research and development achievements obtained provincial-level or above first-edition software product certification. 47 standards, quotas and guidelines related to intelligent construction were promulgated and implemented, covering building information modeling (BIM), construction robots, intelligent construction project evaluation and other aspects, among which the supplementary quota for construction robots has been implemented in 6 cities. 99 universities have opened intelligent construction majors or directions, enrolling 3,562 students in 2022 and 5,539 students in 2023.

(3) Forming experience and practices. Through the pilot, 42 aspects and 130 replicable experience and practices have been formed, providing a demonstration model for the whole country. All pilot cities organized more than 100 technical exchange and project observation activities, which were publicized and promoted through various media, creating a good atmosphere for innovative development in the industry and raising the awareness of all sectors of society about the achievements of high-quality development of the construction industry.

　　II. Evaluation results of pilot cities

After self-evaluation by pilot cities, mutual evaluation among pilot cities, and joint evaluation by expert groups, and comprehensively using methods such as data statistics, results analysis, and expert review, the evaluation opinions on the 2023 annual work situation of the 24 pilot cities are as follows.

The 8 pilot cities of Shenzhen, Suzhou, Wuhan, Hefei, Guangzhou, Changsha, Wenzhou and Taizhou have made relatively strong organizational efforts, with obvious progress in various pilot tasks, outstanding work results and excellent overall performance, and are commended. Among them, Shenzhen has earnestly implemented the innovation-driven development strategy, actively promoted cross-sector integration of the construction industry with advanced manufacturing and the new generation information technology industry, continuously expanded intelligent construction application scenarios, and initially formed 6 innovative industry layouts such as modular buildings, construction industry internet, and AI-assisted design, striving to build a "source of technology" for intelligent construction. Suzhou has proposed a path plan of mainly promoting the "hardware" of intelligent equipment and incubating the supporting "software" of related technologies, focusing on investment in and construction of industrial entities for construction equipment such as construction robots and intelligent elevators, and improving supporting measures in technology research and development, engineering application services, professional talent training, and quality and safety supervision, taking the lead in advancing the industrialization process of intelligent construction. Wuhan has leveraged the clustering advantages of large enterprises and research institutes, developed and applied a number of landmark intelligent construction technology products such as building machines, bridge erection machines and tower-building machines, deployed and built a BIM-based whole-process approval management system for engineering projects, and strived to explore a new engineering construction model of "one model to the end, digital construction, and smart supervision". Hefei has provided financial rewards to construction enterprises for investment in intelligent construction-related software research and development, equipment procurement, and information technology services, improved industrial chain coordination capacity through carrying out pilot projects in construction industry internet zones, cultivated a number of "specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative" enterprises in the field of housing and urban-rural development, and created a new model for the transformation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Guangzhou has clearly stipulated by legislation that BIM can be used for project construction application and approval, issued local standards and specifications around industrialized and digitalized construction processes, built and put into use an integrated smart supervision platform of "managing construction sites on one screen", and accelerated the improvement of the construction industry laws and regulations system compatible with intelligent construction. Changsha has organized expert teams to strengthen research on the industrial system and technical system of intelligent construction, provided "point-to-point" technical consulting services for pilot demonstration projects, and actively promoted the exploration and practice of new construction methods and construction management models. Wenzhou has actively explored a new labor service model of "intelligent construction equipment + industrial workers", and by coordinating the development of the "three databases" of intelligent construction equipment database, labor team database and pilot project database, focused on cultivating professional labor teams proficient in human-machine collaboration skills at construction sites, strengthening talent support for the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry. Taizhou has supported local enterprises in promoting equipment renewal in the field of building construction, focusing on hoisting machinery, steel bar tying, floor slab drilling

The 16 pilot cities of Beijing, Foshan, Xi'an, Nanjing, Chongqing, Qingdao, Jiaxing, Tianjin, Baoding, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Xiong'an New Area, Chengdu, Shenyang, Urumqi and Harbin all successfully completed their annual work plans and actively explored different types of intelligent construction development models in light of local characteristics, with overall good work performance.

At the same time, there are still some shortcomings and deficiencies in the pilot work. The work promotion efforts of some pilot cities need to be strengthened, and the work results are not significant enough. Effective work measures need to be introduced as soon as possible in accordance with the pilot implementation plan to accelerate work progress and ensure that expected tasks are completed during the pilot period. The work priorities of some pilot cities are not focused enough, and the pertinence of issued policies and measures is not strong. Research and planning of pilot work ideas need to be further strengthened to ensure that the next work direction meets the framework requirements of the pilot tasks.

　　III. Requirements for the next step

2024 is a key year for the pilot work to be implemented and produce results. All pilot cities should further raise awareness, closely focus on the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, earnestly implement the work arrangements of the National Housing and Urban-Rural Development Work Conference, fully leverage the guiding role of policies, effectively stimulate the innovation vitality of business entities, continuously promote the pilot work in depth and with solid results, ensure the completion of 2024 work tasks on schedule, and strive to achieve work results that are perceptible, quantifiable and evaluable.

(1) Policies must be implemented.

Give full play to the role of cross-departmental coordination mechanisms, guide policy resources such as scientific research, finance and talent toward the field of intelligent construction, and support the transformation and development needs of construction enterprises. Accelerate the implementation of already issued supporting policies, ensure that relevant preferential policies directly benefit enterprises and projects, and form effective incentives. Study and promote the formulation and implementation of relevant standards and quotas, and explore new engineering construction models and pricing rules. Strengthen the construction of supporting systems and improve measures for construction market and quality and safety supervision.

(2) Technologies must be practical.

Solidly advance the construction of intelligent construction pilot demonstration projects, track and evaluate project implementation benefits, and distill a number of practical technologies with remarkable results in improving quality and reducing costs. Make good use of science and technology innovation platforms, strengthen industry-university-research integration, and consolidate and enhance leading technologies in the field of intelligent construction. Relying on scientific research projects and pilot projects, cultivate a group of scientific research leaders, professional and technical personnel and new-type labor teams in the field of intelligent construction. (3) The industry must take shape. Encourage qualified pilot cities to study and draw industrial chain maps for intelligent construction, clarify industrial development priorities, and steadily cultivate key enterprises. Encourage research on calculating the output value of intelligent construction, and explore carrying out output value statistics with industrial parks as key targets. Plan and hold technical exchange and industry promotion activities in light of local conditions, publicize and promote replicable experience and practices and typical cases, and support outstanding construction enterprises in high-quality "going global".

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will continue to track and investigate the policy implementation progress, scientific and technological innovation achievements, and economic and social benefits of each pilot city, select the best replicable experience and practices, advanced practical technologies and typical project cases, and promote them within the industry.