The “dual qualification” system for EPC projects
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Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the **National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the \"Administrative Measures for General Contracting of Building and Municipal Infrastructure Projects\" (hereinafter referred to as the \"Administrative Measures for General Contracting\”), which came into effect on March 1, 2020. Article 10 of the Measures for the Management of General Contracting for Projects stipulates clearly that a general contracting entity for projects must possess both engineering design qualifications and construction qualifications appropriate to the scale of the project, or it must form a consortium consisting of design and construction units with the corresponding qualifications. The general contractor for the project shall possess an appropriate project management system and project management capabilities, as well as financial and risk-bearing capacities, and experience in design, construction, or general contracting of projects similar to those assigned.
"Does having both “........:'(:@:funk:;P” mean that most engineering companies with only design qualifications lose the opportunity to carry out project management on their own? There are only two options: applying for construction qualifications or forming a joint general contract with a construction company.
Obtaining the necessary construction qualifications is no easy task; it requires not only human resources but also a range of resources essential for a construction company’s qualifications, such as construction equipment and support systems. Can companies with limited assets really afford this?
The restrictions on general contracting qualifications must have been relaxed; now design and construction consortia can undertake the work. (This is merely the general contracting method for housing and municipal works.)