12 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
theEdge
Getting Out of the House
The Chinese government has not yet introduced a stimulus package like the CNY4 trillion program
of 2008, but it has set in motion more targeted stimulus initiatives.
In late 2014, China announced it would invest CNY693 billion in 21 infrastructure projects:
16 railways and five airports. Earlier, it approved a CNY800 billion investment in 64 rail projects.
Meanwhile, nine provincial and two city governments have launched new construction and infrastructure projects worth over CNY3 trillion.
These infrastructure investments could help stabilize China’s economy, Lian
Ping, chief economist for the Bank of Communications, told the Xinhua News
Agency. “Most railway and airport projects are quite necessary in the country, and
they are also important to the local economies,” he said.
Like the construction sector, China’s coal sector has fallen into severe distress,
propelled by weakening growth in electricity demand that, in 2014, fell to its lowest levels since the global economic crisis. Yet as the government looks to boost
the country’s use of renewable energy, other energy sectors show clear signs of
growth. For example, the country—the world’s largest solar market—planned to
install 8 gigawatts of small solar power systems in 2014, which is more than 10
times the 2013 figure. It aims to install 15 gigawatts of photovoltaic power in 2015.
Beyond the Slowdown
Despite the current slowdown, China will continue to see an active project landscape, says Henry
Hsieh, a Shanghai-based vice president and general manager for Fluor, which has more than a
dozen Chinese projects underway in sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals
China will invest
CNY693
billion in 21 infrastructure projects: 16 railways
and five airports.
River Walk
Moscow, Russia is far from a pedestrian paradise: Foot traffic
is largely channeled into the city’s hundreds of underground
crossings, which run beneath the sprawling eight-lane highways that shoot out from the downtown center. The Russian
capital ranked as the leading European metropolitan area for
auto congestion levels in 2014, according to GPS manufacturer Tom Tom.
To help shake its reputation as a motorway mecca, the
city approved a project to replace a four-lane roadway with
a 45,000-square-meter (484,000-square-foot) public park.
Project objectives included revitalizing the surrounding areas
by building a public space that is accessible year-round.
Russian studio Wowhaus began sketching the new park
without a confirmed budget, dividing the area into outdoor
zones (filled with fountains, bike paths and lit pavilions) and
1 CHALLENGE 3 PROJECTS
1
OLD INFRASTRUCTURE, NEW LIFE
How to repurpose abandoned buildings and defunct infrastructure to best meet a community’s
needs is a problem seen in cities around the world. These projects are creative examples of
how project leaders are reimagining these defunct spaces into revitalized resources.
indoor cafés and artist studios. After the studio presented project plans and a traffic analysis to the city’s mayor, the RUB2
billion project was approved and completed in eight months. It
is now the first year-round park in Moscow.
