On 10 September 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development designated GSIN among the second batch of National Prefabricated Building Industrial Bases.
The ministry's notice (Jian Ban Biao Han [2020] No. 470), addressed to provincial housing authorities, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps housing bureau and relevant organizations, implements national urban planning and prefabrication policies, including State Council Office Document [2016] No. 71. Following provincial recommendations and expert review, 18 cities including Chongqing, 12 industrial parks including Tianjin Modern Building Industrial Park, and 121 enterprises including Beijing Construction Engineering Group were selected.
The notice asks model cities and industrial bases to develop replicable practices and provide leadership and industrial support. Provincial authorities must supervise implementation; the ministry will conduct periodic assessments and withdraw recognition from bases that fail. The original notice includes lists of the selected cities and bases.
As construction modernizes, standardized fabrication and installation, low energy consumption and new materials are encouraging prefabrication. GSIN has worked with Kobe Steel, Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research, Tsinghua University's civil engineering department, Chongqing University's architecture department and China Academy of Building Research on its light-panel steel-building system. At the time of this release, the system had accumulated 22 patent applications and three provincial construction methods.
Applications span business centers, high-rise housing, schools and hospitals, including Longgang Fourth People's Hospital, Nanyun Jiayuan and Nanhua Primary School. Completed in 2019, Cumark Tower received Shenzhen's first housing-authority recognition for a prefabricated steel building and the Yuegang Award. GSIN will use national-base recognition to continue researching and promoting prefabrication.
