Central Finance Support for Urban Renovation Launched! Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Issue Joint Notice!

On April 8, the General Office of the Ministry of Finance and the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the Notice on Carrying Out the 2025 Central Financial Support for Urban Renovation Initiative. Central finance will provide fixed grants to cities based on regional differences. Specifically: cities in eastern regions will receive a maximum total grant of 80 million yuan; central region cities up to 100 million yuan; western region cities up to 120 million yuan; and directly administered municipalities up to 120 million yuan. Funds will be disbursed in installments according to project progress.

Through three years of exploration, urban underground infrastructure such as water supply, drainage, gas, and heating networks has significantly improved in quality. Sewage collection and treatment efficiency has further increased. Residential areas in older districts have seen notable improvements in living environments, forming replicable and scalable models and experiences.

In 2025, the scope of central financial support for urban renovation projects includes large and above-sized cities, with up to 20 cities selected. Priority is given to megacities and major cities along key river basins such as the Yellow River and Yangtze River. Central financial support focuses on two directions: pilot project construction and institutional development.

1. Urban Renovation Pilot Projects: First, upgrading urban underground infrastructure—including water supply, gas, and heating networks—and constructing integrated management systems for economic and efficient operations. Second, implementing 'factory-network integration' for household sewage treatment and comprehensive coverage of sewage networks in demonstration zones. Third, improving waste management through classified collection, landfill remediation, comprehensive waste bins, hazardous waste removal, mechanical parking facilities, and other municipal basic infrastructure upgrades. Fourth, renovating historic cultural districts, old neighborhoods, community parks, green open spaces, and integrating culture, tourism, accommodation, and leisure activities into a unified development strategy to strengthen consumption-oriented infrastructure.

2. Institutional Development for Urban Renovation: First, project preparation and generation mechanisms. Integrating planning, systematic arrangement, and implementation sequencing for urban renovation projects—forming institutions including but not limited to city-wide inspections, specialized plans for urban renewal, full lifecycle safety management of buildings, construction of project reserve databases, and post-completion evaluation mechanisms. Second, funding allocation and financing mechanisms. Establishing systems that facilitate efficient use of fiscal funds and financial resources. On the fiscal side, fully utilizing national special funds, central budget investment, general public budgets at local levels, special-purpose bond funds, other government fund budgets, and foreign aid funds to maximize the effectiveness of central financial support. On the financing side, exploring optimized credit and capital support models to encourage social capital participation. At the same time, establishing reasonable cost-sharing mechanisms—for example, performance-based payment systems for full sewage network coverage and 'factory-network integration' operation maintenance, professional service models for secondary water supply facilities in residential areas, dynamic updating mechanisms for underground infrastructure 'one map', and long-term operational mechanisms. Third, land protection and approval mechanisms, including identifying low-efficiency or idle land, planning regulations, approval procedures applicable to renovation projects, relevant legal frameworks, and technical standards. Central funds may be used for related expenditures during the establishment of these three types of mechanisms.

   
   

   Cities should follow the principles of adapting measures to local conditions and city-specific strategies, highlighting this round’s key renovation content, focusing on revitalizing old urban districts, concentrating efforts to build urban renovation pilot projects, and forming model zones. At the same time, ensure effective coordination with existing support policies. Specific projects must not duplicate applications for central budget investment, vehicle purchase tax funds, long-term special bonds, or other central funding channels to prevent overlapping and duplication.

Source: Chinese Government Website