Recently, the Guangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau announced the approval of environmental impact assessment reports for the Guangzhou Metro Line 5 East Extension, Line 3 East Extension, and the Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Pazhou Branch Line. The approvals indicate that the construction of the above three metro lines is feasible, and that construction plans should be optimized to reduce the environmental impact of metro construction.

　　Construction of the three metro projects is feasible

　　According to the approvals, the Guangzhou Rail Transit Line 5 East Extension Project (Wenchong ~ Huangpu Passenger Port) is located in Huangpu District, Guangzhou. It starts in the west at Wenchong Station of the already operational Line 5 Phase I, passes through Shuanggang, Xiayuan, and Guangzhou Development District, and ends at Huangpu Passenger Port. The line is 9.76 km long and is fully underground. The line has 6 stations in total (excluding Wenchong Station, including 2 transfer stations); a Shuanggang parking lot will be built, and the Yuzhu depot of Line 5 Phase I will be expanded and upgraded for heavy maintenance. The line will use 6-car L-type trains with a maximum design operating speed of 90 km/h. The total project investment is 8.924 billion yuan, including 92.707 million yuan for environmental protection.

　　The Guangzhou Urban Rail Transit Line 3 East Extension Project (Panyu Square ~ Haibang) is located in Panyu District. The line starts at Panyu Square Station, runs from west to east along Yayun Avenue, and ends in the east at Haibang Station. It is about 9.58 km long and fully underground. The line has 4 stations in total (including 1 transfer station); a Guangzhou New Town parking lot will be built. The line will use 6-car B-type trains with a maximum design operating speed of 120 km/h. The total project investment is 6.085 billion yuan, including about 9.32 million yuan for environmental protection.

　　The Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Pazhou Branch Line is located in southeastern Guangzhou. The line starts from Pazhou Station (exclusive) on the East Ring of the Guangzhou-Foshan Circular Line, runs southeast through University Town and Hualong, and connects to Lianhua Station (exclusive) on the Foshan-Dongguan Intercity Railway, passing through Haizhu District, Huangpu District, and Panyu District. The project line is about 17.621 km long, including 0.093 km of bridges, 17.017 km of tunnels, and 0.511 km of subgrade; two new underground stations, University Town East and Hualong, will be built, and a new 110kV Lianhua indoor traction substation will be constructed. No new depots, comprehensive bases, or parking lots will be built. The line will use CRH6 intercity EMUs with a maximum design operating speed of 160 km/h. The total project investment is 7.005 billion yuan, including 56.0397 million yuan for environmental protection.

　　The Guangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau stated that, provided all pollution prevention and control measures proposed in the environmental impact assessment reports are fully implemented, the adverse environmental impacts of the above three metro construction projects can be effectively controlled. From an environmental protection perspective, the projects are feasible.

　　Strictly control new schools, hospitals, and other buildings along the metro lines

　　According to the approvals, the Guangzhou Metro Line 5 East Extension, Line 3 East Extension, and the Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Pazhou Branch Line should strengthen environmental protection countermeasures. The metro alignment and construction plans should be further optimized to reduce adverse environmental impacts. Local governments should be coordinated to rationally plan land use along the lines and strictly control the construction of sensitive buildings such as schools, hospitals, and residences within noise and vibration protection distances on both sides of the lines. Environmental management during construction should be strengthened, environmental supervision during construction should be carried out, environmental protection facility construction should be included in construction contracts, the progress and funding of environmental protection facility construction should be guaranteed, and environmental supervision requirements should be proposed.

　　At the same time, to reduce noise disturbance to residents, construction noise emissions should comply with the "Emission Standard of Environment Noise for Boundary of Construction Site." Low-noise and low-vibration train models should be selected, and vibration reduction measures such as steel spring floating slab tracks should be adopted to ensure that the vibration environment at environmentally sensitive points along the line during operation meets the requirements of the "Standard of Environmental Vibration in Urban Area," and that indoor secondary structure noise meets the requirements of the "Standard for Limit and Measuring Method of Building Vibration and Secondary Radiation Noise Caused by Urban Rail Transit."

　　Noise pollution prevention and control for facilities such as ventilation pavilions and cooling towers as well as parking lots should be strengthened, layouts should be further optimized, and measures such as silencing, sound absorption, and sound insulation should be taken for high-noise equipment to ensure that boundary noise emissions meet the relevant requirements of the "Emission Standard for Industrial Enterprises Noise at Boundary." Tracking and monitoring of noise and vibration at sensitive targets along the line should be strengthened, and prevention and control measures should be promptly supplemented and improved based on monitoring results to ensure normal production and living conditions for residents along the line.

　　In addition, water environment protection should be carried out. Domestic sewage from the Shuanggang parking lot, Yuzhu depot, and each station should be pretreated to meet the Level 3 standard of the second period of Guangdong Province's "Discharge Limits of Water Pollutants" before being discharged into the urban sewage pipe network and sent to urban sewage treatment plants for treatment. Air pollution prevention and control should also be carried out. During construction, dust control measures such as enclosure, covering, hardening, watering, vehicle washing, and greening should be implemented. Ventilation pavilion outlets should adopt measures such as filtration and deodorization.