Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural of China (MOHURD) officially published the design system standards for city comprehensive utility tunnel and the sponge city construction, to guide the construction of underground pipe gallery and the sponge city.  There is a large cap between developed countries and China in the construction of sponge city and underground utility tunnel, especially technology and management.

Comprehensive utility tunnel

As a major infrastructure, comprehensive utility tunnel covers various engineering projects, complex technologies and huge scales.  Through lots of research, investigation and feedback, based on the current standards, local development status and actual practice requirements, China initiated the design system for city comprehensive utility tunnel construction, in order to further promote the technology development and best practice, and enhance the standardization of design and constructing.  The system includes four parts of overall design, structural engineering projects, pipelines and affiliated buildings.

The sponge city

With the new construction requirements of new type urbanization and sponge city, combining with local development status and current standards as well as the reference of overseas advanced experience, China launched construction design system of sponge city.  The system covers new, expansion and retrofitting of sponge type buildings and communities, roads and squares, green lands, infrastructure of city water system, and construction and operation management.

Mr. Zhan Yi, director of Design department of China Institute of Building Standard Design & Research, said:”The construction of sponge city has become one the guidelines of state strategy.  The system and related design standards will continue to play important roles in the supplement and improvement of China’s sponge city construction.”

Chinese version: http://www.hvacjournal.cn/Item/4986.aspx