On August 5, an official tender announcement was issued for the survey and design of the Luoxi Island–University Town Tunnel project. The Luoxi Island–University Town Tunnel is positioned to meet the need for eastward expansion of Luoxi Island and a new access point to University Town. The project starts in the west at Shaxi Avenue on Luoxi Island, runs east along the planned alignment as a tunnel passing beneath the Xinghewan residential community and under the Fenshuitou waterway, then crosses over the Guangzhou–Foshan circular railway, and finally ends at Waihuan West Road in University Town. The total length is approximately 2.2 km. It is an urban arterial road with four lanes in both directions, a design speed of 50 km/h, and one new tunnel.

The main design contents of the project include survey and design work for road engineering, tunnel engineering, drainage engineering, lighting engineering, traffic engineering (including traffic diversion), landscaping engineering, power cable duct engineering, utility tunnel integration engineering, BIM technology application assistance, utility relocation, external water supply engineering, external power supply engineering, and other related contents.

Construction scale: The Luoxi Island–University Town Tunnel project starts in the west at Shaxi Avenue on Luoxi Island, crosses the Pearl River along the planned alignment by shield tunnel, and finally ends at Waihuan West Road in University Town.

The total length of the project is approximately 2.2 km, of which the tunnel is approximately 1.77 km long (about 700 m in the river section). It is an urban arterial road and a dedicated river-crossing passage for passenger cars, with four lanes in both directions and a design speed of 50 km/h.

The shield tunnel scheme for this project has a total length of 1,771 m, including a 1,200 m shield-driven section, a 265 m cut-and-cover buried section on land, and a 306 m open-cut section. The immersed tube tunnel scheme has a total length of 1,729 m, including a 640 m immersed tube section in the river, a 755 m cut-and-cover buried section on land, and a 334 m open-cut section. It is a long tunnel and a Class III tunnel.

The estimated investment for this project is approximately RMB 1,516.1307 million, and the estimated construction and installation cost is approximately RMB 1,132.6183 million. The construction period of the project is 48 months, and the project schedule is as follows: (1) Preliminary work and survey and design: 9 months; (2) Land acquisition: 3 months; (3) Engineering construction: 34 months; (4) Commissioning of engineering equipment and completion acceptance: 2 months. According to preliminary statistics, the land acquisition area for this project is approximately [figure missing] square meters, with no demolition. Guangzhou is one of the four central cities and core engines of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area requires Guangzhou to fully leverage the leading role of a national central city and comprehensive gateway city, comprehensively strengthen its functions as an international trade center and comprehensive transportation hub, cultivate and enhance its functions as a center for science, technology, education and culture, and strive to build itself into an international metropolis. In terms of infrastructure, the Outline Development Plan requires the construction of a rapid transportation network in the Greater Bay Area. Focusing on connecting the mainland with Hong Kong and Macao and the east and west banks of the Pearl River Estuary, an intercity rapid transportation network with high-speed railways, intercity railways and high-grade highways as the main body should be built, striving to achieve one-hour accessibility among major cities in the Greater Bay Area.

Guangzhou–Foshan Circular Railway

The project intersects with the Guangzhou–Foshan intercity circular railway at the connection point on Waihuan Road in University Town. The Guangzhou–Foshan circular railway has a transfer station at the Guangdong Science Center. At present, the Guangzhou–Foshan circular railway is under construction; the shield has been launched southwestward from Waihuan Road.