Since being designated as one of China's first pilot cities for sponge city construction in April 2015, Pingxiang has ranked first for two consecutive years in the annual performance evaluations of sponge city construction organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Water Resources, creating a new model for “sponge city” construction.
From July 8 to 9, representatives of government authorities, industry experts and scholars, and enterprise representatives from more than 20 cities across the country gathered in Pingxiang to attend the Jiangxi Sponge City Construction Forum, where they jointly studied and discussed experience in sponge city construction technologies, operation and management, and PPP-model construction, with Pingxiang as a representative case.
Pingxiang, a century-old coal city located in the hilly area at the border of Jiangxi and Hunan, faces coexisting problems of water shortage, urban waterlogging, and water pollution. In 2015, Pingxiang carried out bold attempts and explorations in construction concepts, technical systems, project implementation, and pilot scope. It built the sponge city system in layers across three spatial scales: the entire city area, the central urban area, and demonstration areas.
Adopting the PPP construction model to attract large amounts of social capital is a major innovation in Pingxiang's vigorous construction of the sponge city. While addressing organization, management, and funding, this model has also opened new areas for technological innovation among construction enterprises. Relying on the most difficult PPP Lot 3 project it undertook, China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group signed an agreement with Academician Wang Hao of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and his team to jointly build a sponge city academician workstation, accelerating technical research and development in key technologies for planning and design of sponge city construction in old urban areas, key issues and countermeasures in sponge city operation and management, and research and application of “smart sponge” technologies.
At the same time, sponge city construction has also brought new opportunities for industrial transformation and upgrading. Permeable bricks produced from waste materials such as discarded tiles, waste ceramics, and coal gangue have become a new highlight of Pingxiang's industries.
The scene of “watching the sea in the city” that once troubled Pingxiang is becoming increasingly rare. According to the latest statistics from Pingxiang's Sponge City Office, after renovation and upgrading, not only have 12,000 households and more than 40,000 residents in 43 communities been spared from waterlogging, but annual water savings have also reached 2.56 million tons.
The Jiangxi Sponge City Construction Forum was hosted by the Pingxiang Municipal Government and undertaken by China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group.