Recently, the competitive review for the 2016 pilot cities for underground utility tunnels concluded. On April 26, a reporter learned from the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development that Hefei has successfully been selected as one of the 15 national pilot cities for underground utility tunnels in 2016. For citizens, the good news is that in the future, more social capital will be invested in the construction of new underground utility tunnels, solving the problem of "road trenching."
Underground utility tunnel construction selected as national pilot
On April 21, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development held the "2016 National Competitive Review for Pilot Cities of Underground Utility Tunnels" at the China Architecture Culture Center. A total of 20 cities participated in this competitive review. Ultimately, Hefei, along with 15 other cities including Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, was selected as a 2016 national pilot city for underground utility tunnels.
"According to the requirements of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the construction areas for underground utility tunnels in pilot cities include both new urban areas and old urban areas," revealed a relevant official from the Urban Construction Division of the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. In the next five years, Hefei plans to construct 148.78 kilometers of underground utility tunnels, of which 44.03 kilometers of pilot projects will be completed by the end of 2017 and all put into operation in 2018.
In terms of new areas, Hefei has chosen the High-tech Zone Expansion Area, the Shaoquan Lake Area in Xinzhan District, and the Feixi County Industry-City Integration Demonstration Zone for pilot projects. In terms of old urban areas, although there are many difficulties, Hefei plans to combine the implementation of old city renovation projects and choose areas such as the Feihe Area to build underground utility tunnels.
Social capital to account for 70% of total pilot investment
For the utility tunnels to be piloted in the near future, the Hefei Municipal Finance Bureau plans to provide subsidies at a standard of 15 million yuan per kilometer. However, the aforementioned official from the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development believes that the cost of utility tunnels is high, comparable to subways, and relying solely on fiscal investment is not a long-term solution. In the future, market-oriented operation will be necessary, and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model is the best financing approach. After being selected as a pilot city, Hefei plans to use the PPP model for 63% of the total mileage of pilot projects and 70% of the total investment in pilot projects.
The Ministry of Finance previously issued a notice stating that the central government will provide special subsidies to pilot cities for underground utility tunnels: 500 million yuan per year for municipalities directly under the central government, 400 million yuan per year for provincial capitals, and 300 million yuan per year for other cities. For those that achieve a certain proportion of PPP model adoption, a 10% reward will be added to the above subsidy base.
According to the requirements of the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, this year the province will complete the compilation of urban underground utility tunnel construction plans and plans to start construction of 100 kilometers of underground utility tunnels.