12 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") have recently promulgated the Implementing Opinions on Supporting Private Enterprises in Their Participation in the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure (the "Opinions").
The Opinions propose that it is necessary to treat all types of investment entities equally, focus on key areas, optimize the market environment, ease the burden on enterprises, effectively solve the pain points, plugging points and difficulties of private enterprises in participating in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure, and build a participation mechanism for reasonable profit-making by private enterprises, and give full play to the role of private enterprises, so as to improve the quality and efficiency of transportation infrastructure development. To this end, the Opinions establish tasks such as "breaking down barriers to market access and maintaining order for fair competition" and "shaping new business models and expanding participating areas for enterprises". The Opinions clarify that qualification conditions should be set reasonably, and it is not allowed to set, in any form, restrictive threshold for private enterprises' participation in the construction and operation of transportation infrastructure or restrict any private enterprise from participating in project bidding on the ground that it has no subsidiary in the place of construction, or propose, in bidding documents, qualifications, performance, awards and other requirements obviously beyond project characteristics and actual needs.