China to complete underground pipelines survey by 2015

BEIJING - A general survey of underground pipelines in cities and a unified management system will be completed by 2015, reducing accidents caused by aged facilities, the government announced on Saturday.

Gas, water, sewerage, telecommunications and other underground pipelines will be upgraded by 2019, the State Council, China's cabinet, said in a policy document released on Saturday.

A sound urban underground pipeline system will be built by 2024 and substantially better emergency response and disaster prevention are called for in the document.

Serious accidents caused by old pipes have become more frequent. The death toll reached 62 when crude oil leaked from an underground pipeline in November 2013 in Qingdao.