A plan issued by the State Council sets a concrete target for upgrading urban underground utility networks over the next five years. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China aims to build and renovate about 770,000 km of such networks, with a focus on gas, drainage, and water supply.
The Urban Renewal 15th Five-Year Plan specifies that about 200,000 km of gas networks, 175,000 km of drainage networks, 175,000 km of water supply networks, 100,000 km of sewage networks, and 120,000 km of heating networks will be upgraded. Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qin Haixiang noted that these arrangements will bolster urban safety and resilience while spurring effective investment.
Underground networks are considered a city's inner workings. China's total network length stands at around 3.9 million km, the largest in the world, yet aging poses challenges. Zhang Yibin, director of the Municipal Planning Institute at Tsinghua Tongheng Planning and Design Institute, pointed out that about half of rainwater networks in some cities fail to meet drainage standards, and issues like leaks and breakages are common.
The plan thus requires a condition assessment before renovations. Cities will conduct surveys of underground networks before commencing renewal. Chen Shaopeng, director of the Department of Building Energy Efficiency and Technology at MOHURD, said efforts in the 15th Five-Year Plan period will improve drainage and flood prevention systems, raise construction standards, and implement smart monitoring for closed-loop risk management.
On funding, the National Development and Reform Commission will provide support through ultra-long-term special government bonds. The 2026 allocation is 160 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25 billion yuan. NDRC spokesperson Li Chao estimated that total investment in network upgrades during the 15th Five-Year Plan period will reach about 5 trillion yuan, driving the entire supply chain and creating about 2.8 million jobs annually.
The upgrades are also part of a broader national initiative to build six major networks. Zhang Yibin explained that underground networks serve as the physical foundation for new-type power grids, telecommunications cables, and other systems, and their reliability directly impacts the performance of other networks. Coordinated development of the six networks will help reduce long-term costs and strengthen economic resilience.