Improve the comprehensive functions of cities and accelerate the quality and upgrading of infrastructure construction in many places

Source: Economic Information Daily

Original title: Improve the comprehensive function of the city and accelerate the upgrading of infrastructure in many places

　　Urban infrastructure construction in many places is accelerating. Recently, Tianjin, Henan, Anhui and other places have issued relevant construction plans, from the construction of new infrastructure to improve the level of digitalization and intelligence, to the transformation and upgrading of traditional facilities in the fields of transportation and logistics, flood control and drainage, and garbage disposal, a package of projects to accelerate the completion of urban shortcomings, improve urban comprehensive functions, make cities safer, smarter and greener, and improve the quality of urban life.

　　One screen sees the entire city - this is the urban lifeline project safety operation monitoring system that has been applied in many cities in Anhui, Guangdong, Sichuan and other provinces. From pipe networks buried deep underground to bridges standing in the air, they are marked on the screens of the Security Monitoring Center. Click anywhere and the data information is clearly visible.

　　The reporter learned that according to this information, a risk assessment can be carried out on every pipe network bridge in the city, and the data anomaly can be perceived in time to eliminate the risk in the bud. For example, in the past, bridge inspections were generally carried out for one year or more depending on the safety situation, but through monitoring equipment such as sensors installed on the bridge, real-time monitoring of pressure and other data is realized to ensure that the bridge is in a safe operating state.

　　In addition, road flood warnings, billboard fall warnings... Such smart terminal "neurons" are accelerating their expansion in cities.

　　This year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development launched the urban infrastructure lifeline safety project, building an operation monitoring platform covering key areas such as bridges, water supply, heat power, and comprehensive pipe corridors. Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, introduced that as an important part of urban renewal and new urban infrastructure construction, the project aims to improve the city's ability to ensure supply, smoothness and safety, and improve urban resilience.

　　Recently, a package of local specific construction plans has been implemented one after another. According to the three-year action plan for the construction of urban infrastructure lifeline safety projects in Henan Province released on August 28, all counties (cities) in Henan Province will achieve safe operation monitoring of gas, drainage, bridges, heat, water supply and comprehensive pipe corridors in the "three highs" area of urban built-up areas by the end of 2025. Anhui Province has made it clear that the urban lifeline project will expand to more new fields such as elevator safety and rail transit.

　　Liu Qiang, deputy director of the Center for Urban and Small Town Reform and Development of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in an interview with the Economic Information Daily that the mainland's urbanization process has entered the second half, and cities need to better meet people's yearning for a better life. At present, the infrastructure of most cities can generally meet the daily needs of residents, but in the face of special circumstances such as emergency disasters, the load is often limited, and it is difficult to "switch from emergency to emergency", which greatly restricts the improvement of urban resilience. On the other hand, some new infrastructure needs to strengthen the layout construction, which is related to the informatization, digitalization and intelligent transformation of the entire city, with strong network effects and first-mover advantages, and needs to be appropriately advanced deployment.

　　The construction of new urban infrastructure has been accelerated, and the quality and upgrading of traditional urban facilities in the fields of transportation and logistics, flood prevention and drainage, and garbage disposal have also been continuously improved.

　　The reporter learned that taking the Chengdu Universiade as an opportunity, Chengdu has created a number of major urban infrastructure, especially "invisible projects": about 20 kilometers of storm sewer pipelines have been rebuilt, and micro-pipe corridors and other comprehensive pipe networks have been upgraded simultaneously, consolidating the "lizi" of urban infrastructure. In addition, the relevant person in charge of Chengdu Urban Investment Group introduced to reporters that in order to promote the sustainable development of the city and the green and low-carbon transformation, Chengdu Urban Investment Group continued to promote the energy-saving transformation of urban lighting facilities, and completed the replacement of more than 65,000 lamps last year, with a comprehensive energy-saving rate of 47%.

　　More urban infrastructure construction projects will continue to advance. A press conference held by the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment on August 29 revealed that in order to make up for the shortcomings of environmental infrastructure, Chengdu will continue to promote the construction of 13 district (city) and county kitchen waste treatment projects, 5 construction waste resource utilization projects and 11 domestic waste transfer station projects.

　　According to the "Tianjin "14th Five-Year Plan" urban infrastructure construction implementation plan released on August 7, Tianjin will carry out urban lighting energy saving, waterlogging treatment, sewage treatment and other aspects of infrastructure transformation. Among them, the old sewage pipe network will be upgraded and reconstructed, and by 2025, the centralized collection rate of urban domestic sewage will not be less than 70%.

　　In Liu Qiang's view, to accelerate urban infrastructure construction, it is necessary to "prescribe the right medicine" based on the specific conditions of cities of different scales and stages of development. "In cities of different sizes, the specific contradictions are also different. For areas in the middle of urbanization, the problem is that the efficiency of resource allocation and facility utilization needs to be improved, and the docking between service supply and residents' needs needs to be strengthened. For large cities with more mature development stages, the main problem is the outdated and aging of many municipal facilities, resulting in poor user experience and potential safety risks. The renovation of old residential areas and urban villages, the renewal of old gas and heat water pipes, and the collection and disposal of sewage and garbage are all placed in a more urgent position. ”

　　It is worth mentioning that urban infrastructure construction is a people's livelihood project and a development project, which is one of the important aspects of stable growth and structural adjustment. According to incomplete statistics, in 2022, about 65,000 urban renewal projects will be implemented in 571 cities across the country, with a total investment of about 5.8 trillion yuan.

　　However, industry insiders also pointed out that how to effectively break through the capital blockage, optimize the capital structure, and mobilize the participation enthusiasm of multiple capitals will be a long-term problem facing urban infrastructure construction.

　　The reporter noted that in promoting urban infrastructure construction, many places have emphasized innovative capital investment methods and operating mechanisms, further broadened infrastructure financing channels, and encouraged private capital to participate in infrastructure construction, operation and maintenance services.

　　Liu Qiang said that encouraging, supporting and guiding multiple entities and diversified funds to participate in the project of improving urban infrastructure is not only an inevitable requirement for giving full play to the joint efforts of the effective market and the promising government, but also the due meaning of actively responding to the "people's city built by the people, people's city for the people". He suggested that the top-level design of local implementation should be strengthened. Based on the interests of all local parties and the unique attributes of the project, scientifically prepare planning and design, actively reduce the entry cost of market funds, and strive to balance the public welfare and commercial nature of the construction project. At the same time, it stimulates the enthusiasm of social subjects to participate. It is necessary to actively play the role of the government as a "microphone" and "baton" in eliminating information asymmetry and guiding the flow of funds, and also fully respect the advantages of market-oriented institutions in value discovery and creation, project operation and maintenance.