Urban Renewal 15th Five-Year Plan Targets 770,000 km of Pipelines, RMB 5 Trillion Investment

The Urban Renewal 15th Five-Year Plan proposes that during the 15th Five-Year period (2026-2030), about 770,000 kilometers of urban underground pipelines will be constructed and renovated, with total investment of about RMB 5 trillion. According to the plan, the focus of urban pipeline construction shifts to renovation of aging pipelines, lifeline safety, a single map of underground pipelines, and full lifecycle management, with greater emphasis on safety resilience, operational efficiency, and multi-network coordination. Underground pipeline construction has evolved from a single municipal renewal task into a national-level infrastructure undertaking that balances investment stabilization, weakness remediation, and resilience enhancement. The plan divides the period into several implementation phases. From 2026 to 2027, efforts will concentrate on inspection and survey, database establishment, prioritized renovation of high-risk sections, and project preparation. From 2028 to 2029, the intensive implementation phase will see the largest workload and densest capital deployment, with accelerated renovation of aging gas, water supply and drainage, heating, sewage, and flood control facilities. In 2030, attention will shift to gap filling, performance evaluation, platform closure, and long-term operation and maintenance. Looking at the industrial chain, engineering construction companies, particularly those with non-excavation technology and integrated district implementation capabilities, are expected to secure more orders during the intensive renovation period. Smart sensing and platform companies will participate in lifeline projects, district metered area zoning measurement, digital twin, and operations platform construction. Materials and equipment, third-party inspection, leak control management, platform operations, and performance evaluation services will also continue to expand. The design institute sector's growth is not limited to increased volume of traditional construction drawings; it extends to front-end planning and system integration, encompassing inspection and assessment, system solutions, renovation implementation, and intelligent operations extension across the entire chain.