Oita Prefecture Construction Industry DX Acceleration Project (ICT Construction Machinery and ICT Equipment Introduction Subsidy)

(1) Overview: To address the severe labor shortage in the construction industry, Oita Prefecture subsidizes part of the cost for prefectural construction operators and construction consultants to introduce ICT construction machinery and ICT equipment for surveying and design work. The aim is to promote DX across the construction industry, improving productivity, work environments, and worker retention. The scheme applies from the FY2025 (Reiwa 7) budget and continues through FY2026 (Reiwa 8). (2) Eligible applicants: Operators (companies or individuals as defined in Article 2(1)(1) of the SME Basic Act) with a principal office in Oita Prefecture, who satisfy either (1) holding a construction business permit under Article 3(1) of the Construction Business Act AND being rated/approved for participation in Oita Prefecture-let competitive bidding, OR (2) holding bidding qualification for Oita Prefecture-let construction consultant services. Members of organized crime groups or those with close ties are excluded. (3) Eligible expenses: Two categories — (1) ICT construction machinery (ICT-equipped machines or retrofit kits) and (2) ICT equipment (surveying instruments, 3D-CAD software, other productivity-enhancing ICT tools). Eligible expense types are purchase costs (PC/tablet/smartphone peripherals only if used exclusively and integrally with the introduced equipment) and subscription software fees (first-year only; project period from the earlier of grant decision or start date through January 31, 2027). Consumption tax and installment payments not completing within the project period are excluded. (4) Rate / cap / schedule / key points: Subsidy rate is 1/2 (standard track) or 2/3 (wage-increase track). Cap for ICT machinery: 1,000,000 JPY standard / 1,500,000 JPY wage-increase. Cap for ICT equipment: 500,000 JPY standard / 750,000 JPY wage-increase (rounded down to nearest 1,000 JPY). Wage-increase track requires actual wage raise with total payroll increasing by at least 1.5% one month before completion report vs. one month before raise. Project approval application requires the business plan (Form 1), bidding qualification notice, catalog, and (multiple) quotes. Grant application adds the introduction plan (Form 2), budget (Form 3), pledge (Form 4); wage-increase track adds wage-increase trial calculation (Form 5) and payroll ledger copy.