THE application for the rewards of Sponge City construction for the year of 2020 was officially started Saturday, the city’s Sponge City construction office said.

The city will set aside 514 million yuan (US$72 million) for the winning projects. The applicants can send their applications to the Sponge City construction office by May 31.

In 2019, 31 projects won the awards for Sponge City construction.

In 2019, the city designated 27 key areas to pilot Sponge City programs including the Greater Airport area, Bao’an CBD, Qianhai Cooperation Zone and Universiade New Town in Longgang District. The program covers a total area of 312.7 square kilometers, taking up 24.1 percent of the urban built-up area. The pilot areas implemented low-impact concepts to retain, filter and store rainfall through newly constructed projects, roads, green areas and drainage systems to minimize the impact on ecological environment in land development.

According to the city’s plan, 20 percent of the built-up urban areas will meet the Sponge City infrastructure requirements by the end of 2020. The percentage will be increased to 80 percent by 2030.

Shenzhen was chosen by the Central Government as one of the 16 cities to pilot the national Sponge City program in 2016.

The Sponge City program is to revitalize urban landscapes and enable cities to mimic the natural water cycle by replacing hard, impermeable surfaces with permeable, spongy materials and features like green roofs, rain gardens and wetlands to capture and retain rainwater for future use.

The benefits of the program include reducing the environmental impacts of urban development and construction projects, transforming cities for resilience and adaptation to environmental changes and natural disaster, improving urban livability and reducing the economic losses caused by flooding.

(Han Ximin)