(Yicai) Sept. 13 -- The Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources has issued a document to encourage the rational development and utilization of underground resources in urban areas.

Serving the public interest should be the main objective of developing underground spaces, according to the document released yesterday by the MNR. Meanwhile, attention should be paid to leveraging the role of market mechanisms in resource allocation, resource utilization, and market participation.

Underground spaces are land below the surface, mainly used for parking, commercial areas, rail transit, civil defense facilities, storage, and pipelines.

The document also encourages urban agglomerations, metropolitan areas, and regions with net population inflows to prioritize the planning of urban underground space development.

At the end of 2022, China's built-up area of urban underground spaces reached 2,962 square kilometers, according to the 2023 Blue Book of Urban Underground Space Development in China.

The results of a survey conducted by the China Metallurgical Geology Bureau's Institute of Mineral Resources Research showed that the country's total urban underground space resources were as much as 9,000 sqkm. Considering an average utilization rate of 64 percent and a utilization model of three floors, the resources could reach 17,000 sqkm.

The main issues with underground spaces lie in their dispersed and uneven distribution, single-function utilization, and the lack of composite development, Yicai learned. Comprehensive planning is urgently needed to establish a rational and orderly development structure.

Editor: Futura Costaglione