Guangzhou Urban Utilities and Landscaping Bureau yesterday (March 19) said, a digital public administration system will commence its trial period next month in Guangzhou. With an investment of 18 million yuan, the system is a huge database with information regarding the underground pipes, roads and bridges in the city.

The Bureau said that the city has developed very quickly over the past 20 years and underground pipes and lines total over 10,000 kilometers. Because of the inadequate details of underground pipes' exact locations and other relevant information, the underground world is like a big maze and pipes have been accidentally cut off due to construction work on the ground. In addition, events such as a water supply pipe blow-out or gas pipe leak, it is difficult to locate the exact valve immediately due to the lack of detailed information.

The system is designed to solve all these problems and was initiated in 2004 by Guangzhou Urban Utilities and Landscaping Bureau. So far it has included digital information of the city's underground pipes including gas, water supply, drainage, communications and electricity. This is the first public administration database system for a city with a population over 10-million in the entire world.

Editor: Yan