New Infrastructure, New Era
14/06/2019
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A police officer of Tangtou police station in Bao'an District was showing the "AR Glasses". Image: Shenzhen Economic Daily

urbanisationnews - development
Infrastructure development is set to be one of the major factors contributing to economic development in China. Whilst recently we continue to witness the  continuation of standard type infrastructure projects, the development on so-called "New Infrastructure" such as 5G could form a major new direction.  

5G Development
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The award of licences is expected to enable China to move ahead in the global race to deploy telecoms infrastructure. Image: China Broadcasting Network
The Chinese government has recently issued the operating licenses for 5G networks, starting the full commercial services of the next generation network technology. The licenses were granted to 4 telecom operators: -

China Mobile;
China Unicom;
China Telecom; and
China Broadcasting Network*

*(a new mobile carrier) 
This new move is seen as critical as it allows companies to start their commercial 5G services which empower the uses of next generation mobile devices, and other new applications such as IoT, VR and autonomous cars.
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Shenzhen is expected to build about 8500 5G base stations by end of the year. Image: Southern Metropolis Daily
Guangdong province is taking the lead in 5G development and application. According to Nandu, Guangdong Province has established more than 14200 base stations, consisting of all 21 cities. Shenzhen and Guangzhou made up a large share in terms of base station installments and pilot applications.
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In April, Qianhai-Shenkou FTZ hosted a 5G exhibition, highlighting the applications of 5G. Image:Jingpao
Shenzhen's Qianhai-Shekou Free Trade Zone is covered by 5G signal with 111 5G base stations in the area in April 2019, which is also the first FTZ deployed 5G network in the country. 
​​Many applications have also been put into practice in Shenzhen, from health care to urban management.
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Image: Southern Metropolis Daily
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Thanks to the 5G technology, was able to supervise the real-time situation in the operation room 2,200 kilometers away in Shenzhen and give instructions. Image: Southern Metropolis Daily
A complicated human surgery was conducted between Shenzhen and Beijing in March, supported by the high resolution live-streaming enabled by a 5G network, where the doctors in Shenzhen People's Hospital undertook the surgery through real-time instruction of experts in Beijing.

Shared practice was also observed in public security management where the country's first 5G equipped police station; Tangtou police station in Bao'an District, Sehnzhen, has adopted all key 5G applications including augmented reality (AR) glasses, patrol drones and patrol robots, allowing remote and 24 hour police patrols to be possible.
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Website of IMT-2020. Image: imt-2020.org.cn
China is considered as one of the pioneers in 5G development and has put it on the national agenda for many years. Early in the 2013, the IMT-2020 (5G) promotion group, a platform for 5G research and international exchange and cooperation was initially formed under the joint efforts between 3 government bodies, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). In 2015, "Made in China 2025" initiative and the 13th Five-Year Plan have both included 5G as an important development goal. 
Meanwhile, the research and development works of 5G have gone through 3 stages in China. The 1st and 2nd phase of 5G trials were initiated in January and September of 2016, kicking of the verification of key technology and technical solution. The 3rd phase trial of system verification of system verification was started in November 2017, finalising the 5G standard and building trial 5G network.
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Image: EY
​Up to the recent commercial operation, the three major telecom operators has already launched 5G trials in multiple Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and the listed cities of commercial use has expanded to at least 40 cities. As for devices, companies such as Huawei, ZTE, OPPO, VIVO, Xiaomi and Nubia have delivered 5G commercial devices and joint collaborative 5G testing with the operators.  
​As the commercial practices become expanded later this year, we will see more applications in different industries.  

Pearl River Delta Water Resources Allocation Project
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Image：China Daily
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The water utilisation rate of Dongjiang is much higher than Xijiang Image: Ifeng.com
As the largest water resource project in Guangdong province, the Pearl River Delta water allocation project started its construction last month. This project is intended to bring water from the western Xijiang River to the eastern Dongjiang River through 113.2 kilometres of pipelines. 
​Cities along the Pearl River Delta are expected to benef from easing water shortages, including Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen, and it should also improve the ecological environment of the Dongjiang River during the dry season, as well as ensuring emergency water supply to Hong Kong. 
The longstanding issue of insufficient water supply of the Dongjiang River has made the water resources utilisation rate of 38.3 percent, which is close to the international alarm standard of 40 percent. contrastingly, the western Xijiang River has 10 times of the water capacity with only 1.2 percent utilisation rate. 
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As an important connecting point of the project in Shenzhen, Gongming reservoir has been completed with a total capacity of 139 million cubic meters. Image: Shenzhen TV
This project is designed to provide water supply to 30 million people annually with an average of 1.708 billion cubic meters and particularly 847 million cubic meters of that going to parched Shenzhen. 
Water conveyance tunnels will be adopted in a fully enclosed mode and installed 40 to 60 meters underground for ecological protection. It will also make a world record for the highest water pressure and the longest tunnel shield length. 
The project is considered as a highly important infrastructure project and is listed in the newly released Outline Development Plan for Greater Bay Area.

It is expected to take 60 months to complete being commissioned before 2025.

Guangzhou-Hong Kong Smart Manufacturing Special Cooperation Zone
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Proposed development at the GZ-HK Smart Manufacturing Special Co-operation Zone . Image: Yangcheng Evening News
Last month, the first construction work of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Smart Manufacturing Special Cooperation Zone was officially launched as part of the Guangzhou Development District. 
TLocated in Huangpu District at the east of Guanzhou, the Special Cooperation Zone is expected to build a single entry-exit building for border crossing between Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as a yacht terminal, helicopter port, smart manufacturing centre, five-star hotels, and high-end talent apartments.
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The orange area is Guangzhou Development District. Image:Foreign Investment Promotion Department of Investment Promotion Bureau of GDD
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The Guangzhou Development District has multiple function zones. Image: Foreign Investment Promotion Department of Investment Promotion Bureau of GDD
The entry-exit building is intended to become the gateway to the water route connecting to Hong Kong International Airport and Macau International Airport.

Following its intended completion in May of next year, travellers from Guangzhou should be able to reach Hong Kong International Airport in 1 hour 20mins and Hong Kong - Kowloon in 1 hour 50 mins. 
The development aims to become a high-end commercial and trade port connecting directly with Hong Kong. It is designed to help Guangzhou play a leading role as a national city portal and enhance international trade.

It is estimated that the operating income of the project should reach 100 billion yuan at full development.
This special cooperation zone kicked off with 35 projects, including 23 industrial and technological complex projects, 11 livelihood and municipal projects and 1 urban renewal project.  
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