The Beijing municipal government on Nov. 21 issued a guideline for the capital's work on the planning, construction and operation of underground utility tunnels.
According to the guideline, the city plans to build 150 to 200 kilometers of underground utility tunnels by 2020. The tunnels will first be planned and built along the construction of major projects including Beijing's sub-center, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing.
Underground utility tunnels refer to tunnels that carry electricity, water, heating, gas and sewer pipes as well as telecommunications and television cables, and they are an upgraded version from the direct buried underground method.
They will help to save land and underground space resources and avoid roadwork that often blocks traffic. Moreover, the tunnels could also enhance the safety and reliability of cables, improve urban carrying capacity, improve the urban landscape, eliminate overhead cables, and keep the city shipshape.
To date, Beijing has about 20 kilometers of underground utility tunnels in the west side of Zhongguancun, the Changping Future Science Park, and the Tongzhou Canal core area.
Beijing has 12 ongoing underground utility tunnel projects in 2017, more than the past years. The projects, including Beijing's sub-center, the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing, Beijing Insurance Business Park in Shijingshan District and the new airport expressway, are under construction.
The construction of the underground utility tunnels will begin alongside the construction of the new district, roads and railways.
Further down the road, Beijing plans to construct about 450 kilometers of underground utility tunnels by 2035.