Approximately 800 million yuan ($128 million) will be invested in the construction of a pilot “sponge city” project in Yuelai New District, Chongqing, according to the Liangjiang New Area. The project will form part of a comprehensive multi-functional urban district in Liangjiang New Area.

Chongqing was listed as one of the first batch of pilot cities to construct a “sponge city” this April, together with 15 other cities. The sponge city project will be built in Yuelai New District over the next three years. The final project plans will be released at the end of this month.

Yang Zhihong, director of the Liangjiang construction bureau, said that the 800 million yuan ($128 million) investment will be used to rebuild eight roads and renovate the Chongqing international Expo Center and its surroundings, which covers 400,000 square meters.

As a mountain city with a unique pattern of rainfall, the biggest challenge for the project in Yulei New District is to find a tailor-made way of constructing a sponge city, according to Yang. He added that “the key to it is to make clear of the characteristics of the city’s rainfall.”

The success of the sponge city pilot project in Yuelai New District will set a good example to Liangjiang New Area and wider areas in the Chongqing municipality.

Edited by Jacob Hooson