In Huai'an, Jiangsu province, the first project to receive simultaneous approval for agricultural land conversion and land expropriation without a standalone zoning plan has been greenlit by the provincial government. This milestone marks the province's inaugural successful implementation of the Ministry of Natural Resources Document No. 38, establishing a replicable model for streamlining land approval procedures across the region.

Last May, the Huai'an Economic Development Zone attracted a major industrial project with a 5-billion-yuan investment. However, the selected site fell outside the designated development zone, and transitional policy gaps between old and new zoning regulations created significant obstacles. In response, provincial and municipal authorities formed a special task force to coordinate parallel progress: one track focused on identifying and repurposing existing idle land to accommodate the project's initial phase, while another guided local government to prepare zoning explanations concurrently with the preliminary expropriation procedures.

In July, following the release of the "Notice on Further Optimizing Natural Resource Guarantee Measures," the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Natural Resources promptly directed Huai'an to submit all assembled application materials, seizing critical time for project acceleration. As the province's first pilot initiative, the project had to balance leveraging favorable policies with ensuring lawful expropriation procedures. During the submission phase, the task force convened daily to resolve any issues discovered during review—including the technical hurdle of integrating zoning explanation review into the existing land and forestry approval system. The necessary module was developed and operationalized within just two days, enabling real-time intelligent assessment.

Previously, land expropriation involving zoning development required a standalone plan, triggering up to ten procedural steps such as drafting, soliciting opinions, public notification, and multi-level approval. This process could take as long as six months from initial development planning to final land approval. Under the new policy framework, the provincial department guided Huai'an to drastically reduce redundant procedures by shifting from sequential to parallel processing. Public notices for compensation plans now launch simultaneously with zoning explanations, while approval applications combine both zoning and land conversion requests into a single submission—creating an integrated "one application, one approval" loop.

Through process reengineering, the overall approval timeline has been shortened by two to three months, significantly lowering institutional transaction costs and accelerating project realization. A provincial department spokesperson noted that they will continue guiding local authorities to refine approval services, ensuring streamlined procedures and robust resource support to help major projects achieve rapid implementation and contribute to the province's economic leadership role.