The government said on Sunday that it's introduced new vetting measures to speed up large-scale development projects. Development chief Bernadette Linn said the streamlining of procedures follows proposals floated in the Chief Executive's Policy Address last year. "The new measures strengthen internal supervision and allow for senior officials to intervene in a timely manner, for quicker approval of large-scale projects," she wrote on her online blog. The measures apply to housing projects of more than 500 flats, office buildings over 100,000 square metres, as well as projects in the Northern Metropolis involving different industries. Officials said projects often need vetting from different departments, and the new measures would allow them to bring in seniors to intervene should there be differences in views. If they can't resolve the disputes, the Lands Department will submit the cases to two task forces headed by the Permanent Secretary for Development and the Undersecretary for Development. For the Planning Department, one of its new key performance indicators (KPI) is to complete vetting on 80 percent of projects within six months. As for Northern Metropolis projects, the Buildings Department will slash building plan vetting time from the current 60 days, to 45 days.