In the eastern science and technology corridor of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, lies the Apollo Future Industry City. This sprawling 50-square-kilometer park is remarkably clean and orderly, with no tangled underground pipelines or dense overhead cables visible. Where exactly are the municipal utilities hidden? Our reporter conducted an on-site investigation.
Consolidating Pipelines into Tunnels to Unlock Land Resources
Deep beneath the core area of the industrial park, a comprehensive utility tunnel stretching approximately 5.6 kilometers runs through the underground. Nearly all municipal pipelines—including electricity, communications, gas, water supply, and sewage—are housed within this subterranean passageway. Zhang Gelei, donning a safety helmet, steps into the tunnel. The corridor is well-lit with smooth air circulation. As the project's installation manager, he and his colleagues conduct meticulous inspections of the tunnel structure and drainage systems, making thorough preparations for the rainy season.
The Apollo project stands as one of China's largest utility tunnel projects, featuring the broadest cross-section, the most compartments, and the most comprehensive pipeline integration. It functions like a well-organized "shared dormitory," with rainwater, sewage, gas, general utility, power and telecom, and high-voltage power compartments arranged side by side. These compartments are separated by concrete walls, ensuring they operate independently yet work in efficient coordination: the gas compartment is equipped with explosion-proof electrical systems and independent ventilation; the sewage compartment has its own discharge system and deodorization devices to prevent odor leakage and sediment blockage; and water supply and reclaimed water pipes are positioned on opposite sides of the same compartment, each following its designated path.
"By intensively utilizing underground space, we've freed up valuable land resources, creating precious room for the park's high-end industries to take root," said Xi Chunhuai, General Manager of Shenzhen Longgang Information Pipeline Co., Ltd. The utility tunnel project allocates compartments based on pipeline safety classifications and is situated beneath green belts, minimizing the impact of routine operations and maintenance on urban traffic.
Smart Inspection Systems Boost Maintenance Efficiency
Under the traditional direct-burial approach, different pipelines were constructed separately, leading to repeated road excavations—often dubbed "road zippers"—that disrupted traffic and daily life while hampering the business environment. "Pipelines buried directly in the ground, in contact with soil and groundwater, corrode quickly and have shorter lifespans, resulting in higher management risks and operational costs in the later stages," explained Liu Pengfei, Chief Engineer of the Apollo Project at China MCC20 Group Corp., Ltd.
Now, within the industrial park, all pipelines are consolidated into the tunnel, subject to unified planning, construction, and management. When faults occur, workers can simply enter the utility tunnel through designated access points—no road closures, no barricades, and no disturbance to residents above ground. New pipelines can be laid within the tunnel without having to "open up" the roads again.
Zhao Shidong, Deputy General Manager of China MCC20 Group's Shenzhen Branch and Head of the Apollo Project, has calculated the economics: while the initial investment in building the underground utility tunnel is relatively high, it reduces the hidden costs of repeated road excavation, losses from premature pipeline replacement, and the social costs of traffic congestion—making it more cost-effective in the long run. Inside the general utility compartment, an inspection robot glides along an overhead track, using infrared cameras and various sensors to monitor the tunnel structure, pipeline conditions, and environmental indicators in real time. Firefighting robots stand ready, automatically rushing to target areas to quickly respond if flames or abnormal temperature rises are detected.
Back at ground level, the project's monitoring center displays the utility tunnel's "vital signs" on a large screen: temperature, humidity, oxygen concentration, fire detection—all data monitored in real time with intelligent alerts. This not only frees staff from labor-intensive manual inspections but also significantly enhances the city's resilience against extreme weather and emergencies. "The combination of robotic and manual inspections effectively overcomes the shortcomings of traditional inspection methods—time-consuming, prone to blind spots, and high safety risks—greatly improving maintenance response efficiency," Zhang Gelei said.
Innovative Construction Techniques Reserve Room for Future Upgrades
Beyond smart operations and maintenance, the utility tunnel also demonstrates ingenuity in ecology and construction. The Apollo project area sits on low-lying terrain, surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on the fourth. In the past, heavy rains would send torrents rushing down the slopes, quickly turning low-lying areas into rivers of floodwater. The utility tunnel's planning and construction fully incorporated sponge city concepts, with the rainwater compartment working in tandem with ecological permeable paving, sunken green spaces, and ecological storage ponds to strengthen the drainage and flood prevention system.
"Since the utility tunnel was put into operation in 2021, there hasn't been a single flooding incident here," Liu Pengfei noted. The stored rainwater can be used for municipal irrigation and road washing, and during dry seasons, it can supplement nearby rivers, achieving on-site absorption or reuse. For the section passing through the mountain, the project innovatively adopted a "tunnel-and-pipeline co-construction" method, building the vehicle tunnel and the utility tunnel's high-voltage power compartment simultaneously—avoiding deforestation from mountain excavation, protecting the landscape, and shortening the construction timeline.
Inside the power and telecom compartment, telecom fiber optic cables are neatly arranged along support brackets on one side, with reserve space left for future pipeline expansion. Twenty-two communication pipeline interfaces leading to the park are arranged in an orderly fashion on the tunnel wall, resembling unopened sockets. Whether new enterprises need to connect to the network or communication technology upgrades require new lines, everything can be accomplished with ease—no need for further road-breaking construction. "Currently, nine types of municipal pipelines are housed in the tunnel, and while we've fully equipped power and communication channels, we've also reserved upgrade space for emerging technologies like 6G and computing networks," Zhao Shidong said.
"The Apollo project's practices have provided valuable technical and management experience for utility tunnel construction," said Yang Yongli, Deputy Director of the Housing and Construction Bureau of Shenzhen's Longgang District. Since 2016, Longgang District has commenced construction on 8 utility tunnel projects, completing 60.45 kilometers of tunnels, and continues to expand the coverage and depth of its utility tunnel network. Across Shenzhen, this utility tunnel construction model is being progressively implemented in areas such as the Airport New City and Keyuan Avenue. Beyond new urban districts, it is also extending into built-up areas, employing prefabricated assembly construction and construction alongside metro lines to "renew" aging pipeline networks—bringing greater order and safety to underground spaces. Through forward-looking planning, high-standard design, and intelligent operations, the utility tunnel network in Shenzhen is rapidly taking shape, becoming a vital component of municipal infrastructure.
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