Ministry of Finance: Local governments should prioritize the implementation of projects with certain benefits based on the needs of economic and social development, the nature of the project, and the financial situation.

The State Council forwarded the Ministry of Finance's "Guiding Opinions on Standardizing the Construction and Operation of Existing Projects in Government and Social Capital Cooperation", which proposed implementing classification and grading. Local governments should prioritize the implementation of projects with certain benefits based on the needs of economic and social development, the nature of the projects, and financial conditions, and ensure the completion of projects. For projects nearing completion, efforts should be made to accelerate construction, timely review final accounts, and promptly put them into operation. For projects progressing slowly, further discussions on construction contents should be conducted, and measures such as scaling down the implementation scope, optimizing construction standards, adjusting supporting construction contents, and reducing unnecessary construction costs should be considered. Relevant procedures should be strictly followed in accordance with relevant regulations such as the "Regulations on Government Investment" and the "Regulations on the Approval and Filing Management of Enterprise Investment Projects", and the total investment should generally not exceed the approved budget. Government and social capital should contribute project capital in a timely and sufficient manner. Projects that have not commenced by the end of 2024 should generally no longer be implemented in the form of existing PPP projects. Ensure reasonable financing needs. Financial institutions should objectively evaluate based on marketization and rule of law principles and actively support financing for ongoing projects in accordance with laws and regulations. For projects that have already signed loan agreements, the loans should be disbursed timely in accordance with the project's fund requirements under conditions that meet the lending criteria and are risk-controlled. For projects that have not signed loan agreements, reasonable credit terms, such as loan scale, interest rate, term, and collateral, should be determined based on thorough due diligence. The credit approval process should be optimized, and termination without cause or requiring local governments or related departments to provide commitments or certificates should not be allowed.