Press the “acceleration button” for the renovation of urban underground pipelines. It is estimated that in the next five years, China will need to renovate nearly 600,000 kilometers of various types of urban gas, water supply and drainage, heating and other pipelines, with a total investment demand of about 4 trillion yuan.
The National Development and Reform Commission recently interpreted a package of incremental policies, stating that in the early release of the list of “dual”construction projects for next year and the central budget investment plan, priority will be given to supporting a number of key urban renewal projects, mainly arranging the construction of urban gas, water supply and drainage, heating and other pipeline networks, and promoting the solution to prominent problems such as aging gas pipelines, urban waterlogging, and water supply pipeline leakage.
China’s urbanization speed is rapidly advancing Economic Daily
Since the reform and opening up, China’s urbanization process has been rapidly advancing. By the end of 2023, the permanent population of urban areas in China will reach 930 million, of which the permanent population of cities at or above the prefecture level will exceed 670 million. There are 29 cities with a permanent population of over 5 million and 11 cities with a population of over 10 million.
The length of urban pipeline network reaches 3.5 million kilometers
With the significant increase in the number of cities and the gradual expansion of urban population, the construction of infrastructure such as underground pipelines is also constantly increasing. Data shows that by the end of 2022, China’s water supply pipeline length will reach 1.103 million kilometers, gas supply pipeline length will be 990000 kilometers, drainage pipeline length will be 914,000 kilometers, and heating pipeline length will be 493,000 kilometers. The length of these four underground pipelines alone reaches 3.5 million kilometers.
Urban construction has more face than substance
Tall buildings and bustling traffic are the “face” of a city; The various types of pipelines hidden underground and densely intertwined are the “inner lining” of the city. The underground pipeline network includes municipal public pipelines such as water supply, rainwater, sewage, recycled water, natural gas, heat, electricity, and communication within the city to meet the needs of daily life and production. In the past period of time, many cities have placed more emphasis on above ground and less on underground construction and management, with more emphasis on “face” than on “interior”.
The problems faced by China’s domestic underground pipeline network in recent years
In recent years, deficiencies such as insufficient scale of underground pipeline construction, low management level, and severe aging have been increasingly exposed. As the “lifeline”for ensuring the safe operation of cities, once an accident or failure occurs in the underground pipeline network, it can lead to the interruption of water, electricity, heat and other supply guarantees, and in severe cases, threaten the safety of people’s lives and property. The most obvious phenomenon is that some urban roads are repeatedly excavated, and the “road zipper” problem brings great inconvenience to residents’ daily life and travel. For example, in recent years, urban waterlogging has become an unavoidable problem during the flood season, and there is a situation of “city watching the sea” in many places.
Underground pipeline network has become a weak point in urban development
Contemporary cities are complex systems with highly concentrated resource elements, and the disaster risks faced by cities are becoming increasingly complex and diverse. Safety and resilience have become the weak points in urban development. The Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China requires strengthening the construction of underground comprehensive pipe galleries and upgrading old pipelines, and deepening the action to enhance urban safety resilience.
The renovation and upgrading of underground pipeline networks have been put on the agenda
The “Five Year Action Plan for Deepening the Implementation of the People oriented New Urbanization Strategy” issued by the State Council in July this year proposes to focus on the central urban areas with large population size and high density, as well as key areas with wide influence, to deepen the implementation of urban renewal actions, strengthen urban infrastructure construction, especially the construction of urban underground pipeline networks and other “neighborhood” projects, accelerate the filling of urban safety and resilience shortcomings, and create livable, resilient, and smart cities.
At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development stated that China will renovate over 100,000 kilometers of underground pipelines annually in the future. A series of favorable policies have released a clear signal: China will continue to increase investment in the construction of underground pipeline networks, effectively improving the happiness, sense of gain, and sense of security of urban residents.
How to promote underground pipeline network?
The task of updating and renovating the underground pipeline network is heavy and there are many clues. How to promote it? The relevant departments have stated that they will organize and implement urban infrastructure upgrading and renovation actions based on the work ideas of short-term focus on eliminating safety hazards, mid-term promotion of aging facility updates, and long-term promotion of facility function improvement. Priority will be given to the construction of projects related to major public safety and important livelihood guarantees, such as improving the safety of urban underground pipelines, livable renovation of old residential areas, comprehensive renovation of urban villages, and safety renovation of urban transportation facilities.
What funding models will be used to promote the renovation of the underground pipeline network
The funding issue is the key to the smooth implementation of underground pipeline network renovation, and how can the huge funding demand be met? On the one hand, it is necessary to increase government investment, but relying solely on government investment is clearly not enough. On the other hand, innovative investment and financing models and feasible return on investment mechanisms need to be established to attract widespread participation of private capital.
The underground pipeline network renovation project has a positive and significant impact on the development of Chinese cities
At present, China’s urban development has entered an important period of urban renewal, shifting from large-scale incremental construction to a focus on improving existing quality and adjusting incremental structure. The keywords ‘old renovation’ and ‘new construction’ will accompany urban renewal throughout. The construction of underground pipeline networks is a popular and conscientious project. While carrying out the renovation of old pipeline networks, it is also necessary to focus on the planning, construction, and management of new pipeline networks, in order to improve the level of urban safety and resilience.
