A bill on urban development being crafted by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry would call for designating special areas for swift redevelopment.

According to a draft of the bill, made available Monday to Kyodo News, it aims to promote redevelopment of urban areas with the initiative of the private sector, calling on private companies to submit development plans by the end of March 2007 for approval by the ministry.

The ministry is to present the bill to the Diet next week. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi instructed it to draw up the bill at a meeting of the government's urban development headquarters last month.

The ministry's Organization for Promoting Urban Development would partially fund projects approved by the ministry, as well as extend interest-free loans and guarantee certain amounts of debt to be held by developers.

The bill would allow special zones to be set up in areas designated for urgent development for specific purposes, with buildings in the zones being exempt from certain restrictions, including those on the ratio of building volume to lot and shadow.

Companies planning to carry out projects in the areas designated for urgent development would be required to submit a proposal to local governments after obtaining approval from more than two-thirds of land owners.

The bill would emphasize the need to implement such projects swiftly, calling on local governments to draw up an urban development plan based on the proposal within nine months.

In each area designated for urgent development, a consultative body consisting of local government heads and national government officials would be established.