Advanced technologies and urban management methods will be used in the new Lingang section of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, a senior housing and development commission official said on Thursday.

The "sponge city" concept of water management and burying overhead cables that supply electricity and telecommunications in underground pipes will be a feature of the area, said Huang Yongping, director of the city housing and urban-rural development commission, during a press conference on refined urban management.

“The concepts of an intelligent, green city, which represent advanced and high-level technologies and methods, will be intensively implemented in the construction of the new area,” said Huang. "The construction of the new area will be based on the world's top standards and levels."

The city has built a "grid management" system with big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies used to achieve whole-process refined urban management.

The construction of 50 model "beautiful blocks" near venues and roads such as the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), Nanjing Road W., Hongqiao Road and Yuyuan Road has finished, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

Illegal structures totaling more than 57 million square meters have been dismantled since 2018 and 10,200 small and medium-sized river courses have been renovated.

More than 5 million square meters of green space has been added since 2018 and 116 kilometers of overhead cables have been buried in underground pipes and street poles removed.

Between January and June this year, elevators had been installed at more than 380 old residential buildings.

Eleven dead-end roads across districts were connected, 110 kilometers of sidewalks and accessible facilities improved and 159 shared parking projects completed in 2018.

Besides, as a part of the city's smart transport, a total of 3,600 bus stations have installed electronic screens which update the arrival of buses.

Faced with the problem of water pipes which are liable to crack, especially during the typhoon weather, Chen Yuanming, deputy director of Shanghai Water Bureau, said officials would conduct a detailed inspection to guarantee security.

“We have built 36 water supply stations in different districts, and poor supplement facilities in almost 300 kilometers will be improved this year,” he said.