The Xiang'an New Airport Area Underground Utility Tunnel PPP Project is the first utility tunnel PPP project in Xiamen, one of the first pilot cities for utility tunnels in China, and has been included in the first batch of PPP projects of the Ministry of Finance.

        In early summer, Xiamen Island is vibrant with towering mountains and colorful waters alive with birdsong. On May 12, witnessed by Sun Gongxin, Chief Economist of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), Hou Xicheng, Chairman and General Manager of China Railway 22nd Bureau Group, Qin Peiwen, Deputy General Manager, and Wu Mingzhe, Director of Xiamen Municipal Landscape and Forestry Bureau, China Railway Construction Corporation's China Railway Strait Construction Group officially signed a contract with relevant parties in Xiamen. The Xiang'an New Airport Area Underground Utility Tunnel PPP Project, a project in the first batch of PPP projects of the Ministry of Finance and a key project of Fujian Province in 2016, was awarded to CRCC. This is the first underground utility tunnel PPP project obtained by CRCC.

       As the only dual pilot city in China for both underground utility tunnels and sponge city construction, Xiamen actively promotes urban underground utility tunnel construction. The Xiang'an New Airport Area Underground Utility Tunnel Project is its first municipal project built under the PPP model. The project cooperation period is 20 years, including a 4-year construction period (including a 2-year phased operation period) and a 16-year full-line operation period, with a contract value of 1.477 billion yuan.

       Sun Tonglin, Chairman of China Railway Strait Construction Group, introduced that the project is one of the three underground utility tunnel pilots in Xiamen approved by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. It is located on Dadeng Island, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, with a total construction length of 19.74 kilometers, and is currently the utility tunnel project with the largest buried depth and largest cross-section in Xiamen. The utility tunnel runs along 8 roads including Xiang'an East Road, especially the 3.3-kilometer sea-crossing section along Dadeng Bridge and Bayi Avenue, where the geology is complex and construction technology is highly challenging. The project construction includes utility pipelines and installation works, among which incorporating gas pipelines into utility tunnel management is the first in Xiamen.

       Sun Tonglin said that after the project is completed, it can effectively solve problems such as repeated road excavation, dense overhead lines, and frequent pipeline accidents, putting an end to the "road digging" phenomenon. At the same time, it will serve as the connection channel for the region's main external municipal trunk pipelines, especially providing important support for the construction and development of Xiang'an New Airport. Xiang'an New Airport, built last year on Dadeng Island, which is closest to Taiwan, is an important international airport, regional hub airport, and international cargo port airport in China, and is also the mainland's "mini three links" port for Taiwan.

       Facing the "investment + construction general contracting" construction model of the Xiang'an New Airport Area Underground Utility Tunnel PPP Project, the project team of China Railway Strait Construction Group refined and broke down each item from utility tunnel selection, technology, materials, and equipment, and visited various suppliers as well as the Shanghai Pudong Expo Utility Tunnel, Zhuhai Hengqin Utility Tunnel, and Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Pukou Central District Utility Tunnel for study, ensuring the overall plan is scientific and reasonable.

       Just the day before the signing, a working group from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development conducted a spot check on the Xiamen Xiang'an Shuangpu Road Utility Tunnel Project built by China Railway Strait Construction Group, highly praising their safety and quality management, and affirming Xiamen's practices in actively exploring underground utility tunnel construction.

       The Xiang'an New Airport Area Underground Utility Tunnel PPP Project is implemented by a project company jointly funded and established by China Railway Strait Construction Group and Xiamen Municipal Utility Tunnel Company representing Xiamen. It includes project design, investment and financing, construction, operation, and maintenance, and obtains reasonable investment returns through "user fees" and necessary "government payments." In the project company, Xiamen Utility Tunnel Company contributes 30 million yuan, accounting for 10% of shares; China Railway Strait Construction Group contributes 270 million yuan, accounting for 90% of shares.

      Experts say that the innovative model of "PPP + government purchase of services" not only achieves risk sharing and benefit sharing between the government and enterprises but also resolves the contradiction between the growing social demand for public infrastructure and insufficient government funds.

      Wu Mingzhe, Director of Xiamen Municipal Landscape and Forestry Bureau, stated that the Xiamen municipal government and relevant parties will closely cooperate to create a good environment for project construction, strive to make the project a demonstration and model project of China's urban utility tunnel PPP model, and achieve win-win cooperation between the government and enterprises.

      It is reported that Xiamen is currently promoting 3 underground utility tunnel pilot projects with a total length of 38.9 kilometers and a total investment of about 2.85 billion yuan. On the basis of completing the pilot projects, they will synchronously plan and construct underground utility tunnels in conjunction with the development and construction of areas such as Maluan Bay Area, Xiang'an Airport New City, Xiang'an and Tong'an High-tech Industrial Bases, and Modern Service Industry Bases. (Kong Xiangwen, Wang Guangyou, Xiao Yuhua, Wang Yingwei)

      Hotspot Interpretation: Urban Underground Utility Tunnel

       An urban underground utility tunnel refers to a public tunnel underground in a city for centralized laying of municipal pipelines such as electric power, communications, radio and television, water supply and drainage, heating, and gas. The main construction content includes the main works of the utility tunnel, ancillary works, and other supporting works, and can be roughly divided into three types: trunk utility tunnels, branch utility tunnels, and cable utility tunnels.

       The Xiang'an New Airport Area Underground Utility Tunnel PPP Project in Xiamen is the connection channel carrying the region's main external municipal trunk pipelines, coordinating the planning, construction, and management of various municipal pipelines. The pipelines entering the tunnel include high and low voltage cables, communications, water supply, reclaimed water, and gas pipelines, among which gas pipelines are included in utility tunnel management for the first time in Xiamen; installation works include fire protection systems, drainage systems, ventilation systems, information systems, electrical systems, signage systems, etc.