To further cut red tapes and improve government approval efficiency, east China's port city of Qingdao will exempt 60 items of six industries from environmental impact assessment documents starting this year.

The industries mentioned in an article attributed to the city's investment promotion office are water conservancy, agriculture/forestry/husbandry/fishery, road transport, urban infrastructure, social affairs and the service industry, including tourism.

The 60 items which are closely linked to people's daily lives, such as the setup of a pharmacy, a bookstore or a grocery, are deemed not involved in the protection of the city's sensitive targets, and therefore they are given the privilege of not having to go the environmental impact evaluation procedure, which new projects are normally required to go before they can get approval.

The items that enjoy the exemption treatment are still required to take effective measures to prevent pollution and minimize negative impacts on the environment during construction and operation, and are subject to administrators' supervision and examination.