(Issued on October 19, 2017 in accordance with Decree No. 153 of the People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality and amended on November 14, 2019 in accordance with Decree No. 168 of the People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality)

　　Chapter I     General Provisions

　　Article 1     These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Urban-Rural Planning, the Construction Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations, on the basis of the actual conditions of this Municipality and with a view to strengthening management of underground pipelines and utilizing underground space reasonably to ensure orderly construction and safe operation of underground pipelines.

　　Article 2     The term “underground pipelines” herein refers to the pipelines laid under the ground for water supply, water drainage, gas supply, heat supply, power supply, communication, broadcasting and television, industry, petroleum natural gas transmission, etc. and the accessories of such pipelines, and the utility tunnels used for such pipelines.

　　Article 3     These Measures shall apply to the planning, construction, maintenance, protection and related information management activities of the underground pipelines in the administrative areas of this Municipality.

　　Where otherwise specified in relevant laws and regulations on the management of underground pipelines, such stipulations of the relevant laws and regulations shall apply.

　　Article 4     The municipal housing and urban-rural development shall be responsible for comprehensive coordination and management of the underground pipelines in this Municipality, and organizing the implementation of these Measures. The underground pipeline authority designated by the district government shall be responsible for comprehensive coordination and management of the underground pipelines within their respective jurisdiction.

　　The land resources and planning authority shall be responsible for the management of planning, information and files of underground pipelines.

　　The authorities in charge of development and reform, water affairs, industry and information technology, public security, transportation, civil air defense, emergency management, and urban management shall assist in the management of underground pipelines according to their duties.

　　Article 5     It is encouraged to study and innovate in underground pipeline-related sciences and technologies, promote the use of new technologies, new materials, and new processes, heighten the quality standards for underground pipelines, and prolong the service life of underground pipelines.

　　It is encouraged to use various advanced technologies for the positioning, detection, and management of underground pipelines.

　　It is encouraged to lay underground pipelines in the form of utility tunnels and to standardize and guide the application of non-excavating technologies in underground pipeline works.

　　Chapter II   Planning and Construction

　　Article 6     The municipal land resources and planning authority shall, together with relevant industry authorities and underground pipeline project developers, organize the compiling of the comprehensive planning for underground pipelines in the whole city to reasonably specify the spatial positions, scale and direction of various underground pipelines. Such an overall plan shall be implemented after approval by the municipal government.

　　Industry authorities in charge of power supply, water supply, water drainage, gas, communication and the like shall prepare plans for corresponding specialized pipelines according to the comprehensive planning for underground pipelines to reasonably specify the scale, layout, land use of utilities, and range of protection of these pipelines. Such a specialized plan shall be implemented after approval by the municipal government.

　　Article 7     The comprehensive planning for underground pipelines and the specialized plan for various underground pipelines shall be consistent with relevant plannings for underground space, road, rail transit, civil air defense, etc.

　　When organizing the preparation of the regulatory plan, the municipal land resources and planning authority shall make detailed arrangements for underground pipelines according to the comprehensive planning and the specialized plan, and shall reasonably determine the scale, plane position, direction, elevations of main controlling points, land use of utilities, and range of protection of the underground pipelines.

　　Article 8     Project developers of underground pipeline works shall submit their annual construction demands for underground pipelines to the municipal housing and urban-rural development authority according to the comprehensive planning and the specialized plan in combination as well as relevant annual road construction plans.

　　The municipal housing and urban-rural development authority shall coordinate the annual construction demands for underground pipelines and the annual construction demands for roads, and shall prepare annual construction plans for underground pipelines after consulting the relevant industry authorities.

　　Article 9     In relation to any underground pipeline project implemented synchronously with the road, rail transit, civil air defense, or other municipal construction projects, the project developers of the municipal projects shall organize the preparation of comprehensive planning schemes for the pipelines according to the planning and design requirements provided by the land resources and planning authority, and such comprehensive schemes shall be included into the design schemes of the municipal construction projects.

　　The contents of the comprehensive planning schemes for pipelines shall include:

　　(1) Construction scales, plane positions, vertical elevations, spacing, and drainage gradients of the underground pipelines under different road sections and the auxiliary facilities;

　　(2) Detailed layouts of underground pipelines at crossings and complex positions, and information on the reserved joints and embedded underground pipelines crossing any road;

　　(3) Scheme on utilization and reconstruction of existing underground pipelines; and

　　(4) Range of protection and protective measures for the underground pipelines.

　　Article 10   Before organizing the preparation of comprehensive planning schemes for underground pipelines or applying for planning permits for construction projects, the project developers shall check the information on the existing underground pipelines by virtue of the comprehensive underground pipeline management information system.

　　Where the information on the existing underground pipelines is insufficient, the project developers shall find out the existing underground pipelines by means of field detection, and shall submit the detected information to the municipal land resources and planning authority when applying for planning permits for construction projects. The cost of detection shall be included in the project cost. Owners of the underground pipeline works shall assist the project developers in performing field detection.

　　Article 11    In the case of construction, reconstruction or expansion of underground pipelines, the project developers shall apply to the land resources and planning authority for permits for construction projects.

　　Where any underground pipeline project implemented synchronously with the road, rail transit, civil air defense, or other municipal projects, the planning permits for such projects shall be obtained synchronously with the planning permits for the main works.

　　Project developers of underground pipeline works shall construct the underground pipelines according to the requirements specified in the planning permits for construction projects, and shall not make any change without permission; where it is necessary to change the plane position, vertical elevation and scale of the underground pipelines due to field conditions, occupation of underground space or other reasons, approval from the land resources and planning authority shall be obtained.

　　Article 12   Before the construction of underground pipeline works, project developers of the underground pipeline works shall handle relevant procedures to obtain a construction permit.

　　Where the existing urban roads or highways need to be occupied temporally or excavated due to the construction of underground pipelines, project developers of the underground pipeline works shall handle relevant procedures to obtain a permit for temporary occupation or excavation according to relevant regulations.

　　Article 13   Before commencement of construction of an underground pipeline project (except for pipelines relocation project), the project developer shall entrust an entity qualified for the survey to set lines and apply to the land resources and planning authority for verification of the lines. The land resources and planning authority shall verify the lines within 7 workdays after receiving the application. Construction of an underground pipeline project shall not be commenced before the line verification.

　　The cost of line setting and associated survey shall be included in the cost of the underground pipeline project.

　　Article 14   Underground pipeline work under newly built, rebuilt or expanded road projects shall be constructed synchronously with the road work. The project developers of the road work shall plan as a whole and manage the road work and the underground pipeline work, and reasonably arrange the construction period of the underground pipeline work. The project developers of the underground pipeline work shall provide assistance for the project owner of the road work.

　　Where the underground pipeline work cannot be constructed synchronously with the road work due to special reasons, the project developers of the road work shall set ditches, bury pipes, or reserve channels in advance for subsequent use by the permitted project developer of the underground pipeline work on a paid basis.

　　Article 15   In any of the following circumstances, project developers of the underground pipeline work shall not lay underground pipelines by excavating roads:

　　(1) According to the annual construction plans for underground pipelines, the underground pipeline work shall be constructed synchronously with the road work;

　　(2) The project developer of road work have set ditches and buried pipes in advance;

　　(3) A newly built, reconstructed, or expanded urban road is within the first 5 years after it was put into operation;

　　(4) An urban road that has undergone a major repair is within the first 3 years after completion of the repair; or

　　(5) Utility tunnels have been built.

　　Where it is indeed necessary to excavate a road in special circumstances, approval from the municipal government shall be obtained, and a notice shall be given to the public.

　　Article 16   Owners of the following construction projects shall, before construction, confirm the detailed information obtained on the underground pipelines to be affected by the construction with the owners of the underground pipelines, and shall ask the owners of the underground pipelines to indicate the positions of the underground pipelines on the construction site, in which case the owners of the underground pipelines shall provide assistance for the project developers:

　　(1) Construction projects involving utilization of underground space, such as projects of road construction, rail transit, civil air defense, underground pipeline, and underground space development; or

　　(2) Other construction projects involving excavation, drilling, explosion, pile foundation construction, etc.

　　Project developers shall sign agreements with owners of the underground pipelines on protection of the pipelines, and shall put in place the fund for underground pipeline protection and appropriate protective measures.

　　Where any project developer finds any underground pipeline without indication of the positions in files during detailed investigation or construction, it shall report to the municipal land resources and planning authority. After receiving such a report, the municipal land resources and planning authority shall timely verify such conditions, and ask the urban management authority to deal with any illegally constructed underground pipelines according to law.

　　Article 17   The project developer of underground pipeline work shall entrust an entity qualified for survey to perform a completion survey, notify the entrusted entity about the construction plan in advance, and supervise and ensure the implementation of the survey. The project developer of underground pipeline work and the survey entity shall be responsible for the trueness, completeness and accuracy of the survey results. The cost of the survey shall be included in the cost of the project.

　　In the case of an underground pipeline project involving excavation, the survey entity shall complete a follow-up survey before the backfilling.

　　In the case of an underground pipeline project without excavation, the project developer of the underground pipeline work shall ensure adequate conditions for survey at the ends of earth input and output, and shall provide the survey entity with accurate as-built drawings. Where non-metal materials are used, electronic marking devices and metal tracer lines shall be set synchronously with the construction.

　　Article 18   Upon completion of an underground pipeline project, the project developer shall submit the survey results of completion to the land resources and planning authority, and apply for planning verifications.

　　The land resources and planning authority shall check the survey results of completion to verify that the underground pipeline work completed conforms to the contents of the corresponding planning permit. If they are conforming, the land resources and planning authority shall issue a construction project planning acceptance check certificate. If they are not conforming or they are still to be verified, the project developer of the underground pipeline work shall not organize a completion acceptance check.

　　Article 19   The project developers of underground pipeline work shall organize relevant entities involved in the survey, design, construction, and supervision of underground pipeline work to perform completion acceptance checks for the projects. An underground pipeline project shall be put into use only after passing the acceptance check.

　　Quality supervision organizations for underground pipeline work shall supervise the form and procedures of the completion acceptance checks of the underground pipeline projects, and check and decide whether completion surveys shall be performed.

　　Article 20   Within 6 months after the completion acceptance check of an underground pipeline project, the project developer shall submit the completion acceptance check documents that conform to relevant requirements to the municipal land resources and planning authority. Such documents submitted shall be true, accurate and complete, without any alteration or falsification.

　　The entities engaged in survey, design, construction and supervision of underground pipeline work shall assist the project developer in collecting and arranging completion acceptance check documents.

　　Chapter III Maintenance and Information Management

　　Article 21   Owners of underground pipelines shall be responsible for safe operation of the underground pipelines, and shall perform the following maintenance duties:

　　(1) Implementing relevant safety management systems and safety procedures;

　　(2) Setting safety protection facilities, and regularly evaluating the operation status of the underground pipelines;

　　(3) Performing daily patrol inspection and regular maintenance for the underground pipelines, keeping relevant records, and timely repairing or changing any damaged, worn or missing underground pipelines or auxiliary devices;

　　(4) Regularly identifying any safety hazards in the underground pipelines, working out rectification measures, and timely eliminating the safety hazards;

　　(5) Sending special personnel to the construction site to safeguard the underground pipelines facilities after receiving a notice from the project developer if the underground pipelines may be affected by the construction; and

　　(6) Other duties and responsibilities specified in laws and regulations.

　　Article 22   Where any underground pipeline is damaged during construction, the project developer shall immediately notify the owner of such facts, take emergency actions to prevent expansion of the accident, and bear legal liabilities according to law.

　　Where an owner of underground pipelines needs to temporarily occupy or excavate urban roads or highways due to emergency repair of underground pipelines before handling the approval procedures, it may temporarily occupy or excavate the urban roads or highways without approval, but shall complete the approval procedures within 24 hours; after completion of the emergency repair, it shall recover the roads or highways based on the standards not lower than the former technical standards followed by such roads or highways.

　　Article 23   Where any public work requires relocation or reconstruction of the existing underground pipelines, or requires to move any existing overhead lines into ground, the project developer of the public work shall provide compensation based on the original scales of the facilities and according to current standards; any additional cost arising from capacity expansion, standard heightening or function adding shall be borne by the owners of the underground pipelines. However, if the existing underground pipelines or overhead lines belong to illegal facilities, no compensation shall be provided for relocation or reconstruction. The detailed measures for such relocation or reconstruction shall be worked out by the municipal housing and urban-rural development authority together with the authorities in charge of finance, development and reform, land resources and planning, etc.

　　The relocation or reconstruction of the existing underground pipelines or movement of the existing overhead lines into ground shall be performed synchronously with the public work; after acceptance checks, the underground pipelines shall be subject to the management and maintenance of the underground pipeline owners.

　　Article 24   Where an owner of underground pipelines intends to abandon some underground pipelines, it shall seal up the pipes and manholes, and remove the pipelines if feasible.

　　Where some underground pipelines that have been abandoned but have not been removed may affect the public safety or order, the authority responsible for the management of the underground pipeline industry shall make administrative decisions on removal of the pipelines according to law. Where an owner of the pipelines fails to remove the pipelines within the specified period and after the notice of removal, the authority responsible for the management of the underground pipeline industry may remove the pipelines on behalf of the owner according to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Administrative Penalty. Furthermore, the expense for such removal shall be reasonably based on cost and shall be borne by the owner of the underground pipelines.

　　The abandoned underground pipelines with unclear ownership shall be removed by the authority responsible for the management of the underground pipeline industry at the expense of the government treasury at the corresponding level.

　　The authority responsible for the management of the underground pipeline industry shall notify the municipal land resources and planning authority of the information of abandoned underground pipelines.

　　Article 25   The municipal land resources and planning authority shall establish and maintain a comprehensive underground pipeline management information system, and enter the survey results of completion, general investigation results, supplementary survey results and the information provided by underground pipeline owners into the information system for dynamic management.

　　The expenses for maintenance and updating of the comprehensive underground pipeline management information system shall be included in the fiscal budget of the government at the corresponding level.

　　Article 26   The municipal land resources and planning authority shall, together with other authorities concerned and on the basis of the actual conditions, regularly organize general investigations for areas with complex underground pipelines and areas not covered by the comprehensive underground pipeline management information system, and organize supplementary surveys for areas with significant changes in underground pipeline data. Furthermore, such authorities shall include the information of completed underground pipeline works into the information system within 3 months after acceptance checks of completion.

　　Article 27   Owners of underground pipelines shall establish professional pipeline information systems or use information technology to store and update underground pipeline information on a real-time basis.

　　Owners of underground pipelines shall submit updated information of the underground pipelines to the municipal land resources and planning authority and the authority in charge of the management of the underground pipeline industry on a quarterly basis according to relevant information standards and requirements, and shall be responsible for the trueness, accuracy and completeness of the information.

　　The municipal land resources and planning authority shall regularly provide specialized underground pipeline information to the corresponding owners of underground pipelines.

　　Article 28   The municipal land resources and planning authority shall, together with the authority in charge of the comprehensive management of underground pipelines, the authority in charge of the management of the underground pipeline industry and owners of underground pipelines, establish an online sharing mechanism for underground pipeline information step by step.

　　Online sharing of underground pipeline information shall conform to relevant regulations on information security and confidentiality.

　　Article 29   Any consultation or use of underground pipeline information shall conform to relevant national laws and regulations on confidentiality management and the Surveying and Mapping, and shall be conducted only after appropriate procedures are handled.

　　Where the underground pipeline information is used for decision making of governments, national defense projects or public services, such information shall be provided free of charge.

　　Where a project developer or an underground pipeline owner intends to consult underground pipeline information due to construction requirements, such consultation shall be free of charge.

　　Chapter IV  Utility Tunnels

　　Article 30   The municipal land resources and planning authority shall organize the compiling of specific plans for utility tunnels, and implement such plans after approval by the municipal government.

　　Specific plans for utility tunnels shall cover layout of the utility tunnels, types of pipelines, section types, plane positions, vertical control, etc., and shall specify the construction scales and time sequences.

　　Article 31   Where new roads are built in new urban areas, industrial parks or development areas, utility tunnels shall be constructed synchronously.

　　Construction of utility tunnels in old urban areas shall be promoted together with rail transit, river remediation, road repair, urban renewal, shanty area rebuilding, etc.

　　Article 32   Underground pipelines shall be integrated into utility tunnels according to the specific plans for utility tunnels, except for those are technically unfeasible to integrate. And the roads with constructed utility tunnels shall not be planned to construct the similar pipelines of the utility tunnels.

　　At the time of reconstruction, existing underground pipelines shall be gradually moved into the utility tunnels according to the specific plans for utility tunnels.

　　Article 33   Utility tunnel operators shall be responsible for the operation and daily maintenance of the utility tunnels.

　　Where any construction work is to be carried out within 3 meters from either side of utility tunnels, the project developer of the construction work shall sign a safety protection agreement with the utility tunnel operators to ensure the safe operation of the utility tunnels.

　　Owners of underground pipelines shall work out emergency plans for pipeline protection, and submit them to utility tunnel operators for filing.

　　Article 34   For the underground pipelines that have been integrated into utility tunnels, the owners of such pipelines shall pay integration charge and daily maintenance fee to the utility tunnel operators. The charging standards and payment manner of such integration charge and daily maintenance fee shall conform to relevant national and provincial regulations.

　　Where the construction and operation costs of a utility tunnel project cannot be offset by relevant charges and fees, the municipal government may provide necessary subsidies based on actual conditions.

　　Chapter V   Legal Liabilities

　　Article 35   Where any entity violates Article 11 herein by building underground pipelines without a planning permit for construction project or failing to comply with the requirements of the planning permit, the urban management authority shall deal with the violation according to Article 31 of the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality for Investigation and Punishment of Illegal Constructions.

　　Article 36   Where any entity violates Paragraph 1 of Article 12 herein by commencing the construction of underground pipelines without a construction permit obtained through the relevant regulated procedures, the authorities in charge of housing and urban-rural development, transportation, water affairs, etc. shall deal with the violation according to Article 57 of the Regulations on Quality Management of Construction Projects ex officio.

　　Where any entity violates Paragraph 2 of Article 12 herein by commencing the construction of underground pipelines without permission for temporary occupation or excavation of urban roads or highways, the authorities in charge of urban roads and highways shall deal with the violation according to Article 39 of the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on the Management of Public Facilities and Article 76 of the Highway Law of the People’s Republic of China.

　　Article 37   Where a project developer violates Article 16 herein in any of the following circumstances, the underground pipeline authority designated by the district government shall impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 but not more than RMB 30,000; where damages to existing underground pipelines are caused, a fine of not less than RMB 30,000 but not more than RMB 50,000 shall be imposed, and such a violator shall bear corresponding compensation liabilities according to law:

　　(1) Failing to obtain detailed information on the underground pipelines affected by the construction work before the commencement of construction; or

　　(2) Failing to take protective measures during the construction.

　　Article 38   Where a project developer of underground pipeline work violates Article 20 herein by failing to submit completion acceptance check documents to the municipal land resources and planning authority within 6 months after completion acceptance check of an underground pipeline project, the municipal land resources and planning authority shall deal with the violation according to Article 67 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Urban and Rural Planning.

　　Article 39   Where an owner of underground pipelines violates Paragraph 1 of Article 32 herein by failing to integrate the underground pipelines into utility tunnels, the underground pipeline authority designated by the district government shall order it to make corrections within a specified period; where the violator fails to make corrections within the specified period, a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 but not more than RMB 50,000 shall be imposed, and the underground pipelines shall be moved into the utility tunnels by others at the expense of the owner of the underground pipelines.

　　Article 40   Where any authority in charge of housing and urban-rural development, land resources and planning, development and reform, water affairs, industry and information technology, public security, transportation, civil air defense, emergency management or urban management or its staff member, in violation of the provisions of these Measures, fails to perform its/his/her duties required by law, the competent authority shall order it/him/her to make corrections and impose sanctions on the person in charge responsible and other persons directly responsible; if a crime is constituted, criminal liabilities shall be investigated and affixed according to law.

　　Chapter VI  Supplementary Provisions

　　Article 41   These Measures shall come into force on January 1, 2018.