The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Friday it has drafted a new five-year program to improve social infrastructure, giving weight to 15 priority targets.
The draft, submitted to a special committee, features goals for efficient implementation of infrastructure projects, including a 15 percent reduction in the cost of public works projects over five years beginning this fiscal year.
The ministry also aims to map guidelines for citizen participation in projects and introduce electronic bidding by fiscal 2010 for work budgeted by municipalities.
Another key feature is the introduction of 35 numerical targets to gauge achievements of major projects.
One goal is to earthquake-proof 65 percent of the nation's homes in fiscal 2007 from 51 percent in 1998, in an effort to "build a country that can sustain large-scale earthquakes and fires."
To boost transparency in overseeing road projects, the plan envisions promoting Web sites of the ministry's road transport bureau and other authorities so the number of accesses will increase to 100 million in fiscal 2007 from 8.58 million in fiscal 2002.
The ministry will present a draft of the plan for consultations involving the governors of all 47 prefectures next Wednesday in Osaka. Cabinet ministers are expected to approve the program in the fall.