The Paulson Institute, in cooperation with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), today awarded the 2015 Prize for Cities of the Future to the Anheng Group’s Sustainable City Water Supply Network Leakage Control Solution. Paulson Institute Chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr., CCIEE Chairman Zeng Peiyan, and Prize Jury Committee Chairman Richard M. Daley presented the award to Beijing Vice Mayor Lin Keqing at a ceremony held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
The Anheng project utilizes cloud and big data technology to manage water leakage control in urban pipeline infrastructure and provide safer water to China’s urban residents. It steeply reduces the amount of time required to detect leakage points, thus reducing water waste and lowering the risk of pipeline explosions. In China, where the annual water deficit is over 50 billion cubic meters and the average urban water supply leakage rate is 15%, water waste is a growing social and economic concern.
The Anheng project has already delivered promising results in Beijing’s Shijingshan District, which has not experienced a single pipeline explosion since the project’s 2012 implementation. The technology saves the community nearly 1,000 cubic meters of water each day—equivalent to 300,000 tons annually.
The Prize for Cities of the Future is awarded annually to a project in China that offers a creative, effective and scalable solution aimed at promoting sustainable development. The competition is designed to highlight these efforts to a wider audience and recognize the achievements of outstanding Chinese sustainability projects selected by a jury of experts from both the United States and China.
Paulson Institute Chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr., marked the occasion, saying, “We are pleased to recognize such a worthy project, a concrete solution that addresses China’s serious water deficit. This prize provides an incentive for developing innovative, sustainable solutions that can become models for the rest of China, and also promotes collaboration between China and the United States. It is about encouraging leaders—economic, political, and otherwise—to push for practical answers to real challenges.”
CCIEE Chairman Zeng Peiyan added, “This water project captures the spirit of our annual prize by providing a sustainable solution that improves quality of life as well as economic growth.”
Former Mayor of Chicago and Jury Committee Chairman Daley explained the jury’s selection, saying, “Anheng’s platform represents a forward-thinking approach to addressing water scarcity, one of the most critical resource challenges China faces. As Chinese cities expand, this technology will play a key role in water conservation and infrastructure management, helping cities better serve their citizens.”
Beating out submissions from across the country, the Anheng project was chosen by a jury of experts on urbanization and sustainability, including Mr. Daley; Hal Harvey, CEO, Energy Innovation; Huang Nubo, Chairman, Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group; Mao Zhibing, Chief Engineer, China State Construction Engineering Corporation; Pan Jiahua, Director General, Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Zhuang Weimin, Dean of the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University.
