The revised law will introduce new rules forcing property developers to pay construction companies, so they in turn can pay their workers, the China Business Weekly reported.

"Without resolving the issue of unpaid money to construction firms, the payment of migrant workers' salaries can only be solved temporarily," said Shang Lirong, chairman of Beijing-based Zhongji Construction Group.

China has an estimated 140 million migrant workers, many of them active in the construction industry, and their semi-legal status means they have little protection against employers who cheat them of their wages.

The rules will oblige property developers to prove they have the ability to pay before they sign contracts with construction companies, the report said.

Local governments will be particularly targeted as their fondness for large-scale and prohibitively expensive prestige projects place them among the worst offenders, it said.

"Most local governments have limited financial resources but they often invest more money than they can earn to create legacies for local leaders," said Zhu Hongliang, a construction management expert at Tsinghua University.