Regulation on the Administration of Earthquake Resistance of Construction Projects

Regulation on the Administration of Earthquake Resistance of Construction Projects 建设工程抗震管理条例 Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No. 744) The Regulation on the Administration of Earthquake Resistance of Construction Projects, as adopted at the 135th executive meeting of the State Council on May 12, 2021, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on September 1, 2021. Premier: Li Keqiang July 19, 2021 Regulation on the Administration of Earthquake Resistance of Construction Projects Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Regulation is formulated in accordance with the Construction Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Preventing and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters and other laws for the purposes of improving the ability of construction projects to resist earthquakes and prevent disasters, reducing the risks of earthquake disasters, and safeguarding the safety of people's lives and property. Article 2 This Regulation shall apply to, among others, the seismic survey, design, construction, appraisal, reinforcement, and maintenance of construction projects and the supervision and administration thereof within the territory of the People's Republic of China. Article 3 The earthquake resistance of construction projects shall follow the principles of putting people first, fortifying all respects, and focusing on key areas. Article 4 The housing and urban-rural development department under the State Council shall exercise unified supervision and administration of earthquake resistance of construction projects. The transportation, water conservancy, industry and information technology, energy, and other related authorities under the State Council shall, according to their respective functions and duties, be responsible for the supervision and administration of earthquake resistance of construction projects in relevant specialized fields throughout the country. The housing and urban-rural development departments under the local people's governments at or above the county level shall exercise supervision and administration over earthquake resistance of construction projects within their respective administrative areas. The transportation, water conservancy, industry and information technology, and energy, and other related authorities under the local people's governments at or above the county level shall, within their respective functions and duties, be responsible for the supervision and administration of earthquake resistance of construction projects in their respective administrative areas. Other relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation and other relevant laws and regulations, be responsible for the work related to earthquake resistance of construction projects within their respective functions and duties. Article 5 Entities and individuals engaging in activities related to earthquake resistance of construction projects shall be responsible for earthquake resistance of construction projects in accordance with the law. Article 6 The state shall encourage and support the research, development, and application of earthquake-resistant technologies for construction projects. People's governments at all levels shall organize the publicity and popularization of knowledge about earthquake resistance of construction projects to raise public awareness of earthquake resistance and disaster prevention. Article 7 The state shall establish an earthquake resistance investigation system for construction projects. People's governments at or above the county level shall arrange for relevant authorities to carry out investigation in terms of, among others, the seismic resistance of construction projects, application of earthquake-resistant technologies, and industrial development, so that they may have a thorough understanding of the basic information on earthquake resistance of construction projects, and thus improve the management of, and scientific decision-making on, earthquake resistance of construction projects. Article 8 No construction project shall be built in hazardous sections identified in the special program for earthquake resistance and disaster prevention. If it really needs to be done, seismic precautions that meet the functional requirements of construction projects and adapt to seismic effects shall be taken. Chapter II Survey, Design, and Construction Article 9 The construction of new projects, and expansion or renovation of existing projects shall conform to the mandatory criteria for seismic precautions. Relevant departments under the State Council and the standardization department under the State Council shall, according to their functions and duties, develop and publish mandatory criteria for seismic precautions. Article 10 The construction employer shall be responsible for the whole process (i.e., survey, design, and construction) of a construction project. In survey, design, and construction contracts, it shall specify the mandatory criteria for seismic precautions to be adopted, check documents on the survey and design results as required by contracts, organize the acceptance inspection of the construction project, and ensure that the project conforms to the mandatory criteria for seismic precautions. No construction employer shall explicitly or implicitly instruct any survey, design, construction, or other entity, or any of their employees to violate the mandatory criteria for seismic precautions by reducing the seismic resistance of projects. s Article 11 The survey document for a construction project shall describe the type of the seismic site, analyze the seismic effects of the site, and put forward suggestions for site selection and disposal of poor geological conditions. The design document for a construction project shall describe the seismic precautionary intensity, seismic precautionary type, and seismic precautions to be taken. For construction projects employing seismic isolation and reduction technologies, the design document shall explicitly lay out the requirements for the technical performance, inspection and testing, construction, installation, use, and maintenance of seismic isolation and reduction devices. Article 12 For the following construction projects located in regions subject to high-intensity precautions and key areas for earthquake surveillance and defense, the design entity shall, at the preliminary design stage, compile a special section on seismic precaution for construction projects in accordance with relevant provisions of the state, which shall be an integral part of the design document: (1) Major construction projects; (2) Construction projects that may cause serious secondary disasters in the event of an earthquake; and (3) Construction projects whose functions cannot be interrupted or which need to be restored as soon as possible in the event of an earthquake. Article 13 For over-limit high-rise construction projects, the design entity shall give explanations in the design documents, and the construction employer shall, at the preliminary design stage, submit the design documents and other materials to the housing and urban-rural development department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval of seismic precaution. The housing and urban-rural development department shall engage experts to examine the aforesaid documents and materials, and approve the same if the seismic precautionary measures set forth therein are reasonable and feasible. The approval opinions on seismic precaution for over-limit high-rise construction projects shall serve as the basis for the design and examination of construction drawings. The term “over-limit high-rise construction project” as mentioned in the preceding paragraph means any construction project that is beyond the applicable height and structure type as specified in the current national standards or that is extremely irregular in shape. Article 14 The general contractor, construction contractor, and supervisory entity shall establish an accountability system for the quality of construction projects to strengthen the management of the construction quality of seismic precautions for construction projects. The state shall encourage the general contractor and construction contractor to collect and retain by means of information technology the information on the construction quality of concealed work. The construction contractor shall carry out construction in accordance with the mandatory criteria for seismic precautions. Article 15 The construction employer shall set forth, in the instruction manual, the specific conditions of a building, such as its designed service life, structural system, seismic precautionary intensity, and seismic precaution type, as well as the requirements for its use and maintenance, and deliver such manual to the user or buyer. Article 16 Construction projects are divided into projects of special precaution, key precaution, standard precaution, and moderate precaution according to their functions of use and their role in earthquake relief and other factors. Buildings such as schools, kindergartens, hospitals, elderly care institutions, child welfare institutions, emergency command centers, emergency shelters, and radio and television stations shall take seismic precautions that are not lower than the requirements for key precautions. New buildings such as schools, kindergartens, hospitals, elderly care institutions, child welfare institutions, emergency command centers, emergency shelters, and radio and television stations that are located in regions subject to high-intensity precautions and key areas for earthquake surveillance and defense shall adopt seismic isolation and reduction technologies to ensure that the aforementioned buildings can be normally used in case of a precautionary earthquake occurring in such regions or areas. The state shall encourage the use of seismic isolation and reduction technologies in construction projects other than those specified in the preceding parag......