LAUSR

To improve Chinese cities’ resilience to climate change, the Sponge City Program, which was designed to tackle water pollution, storm water management, and flooding, was initiated in 2014. Being a major policy initiative, the Sponge City Program raises heated discussions among Chinese academics; however, no relevant extensive economic or financial analysis has been conducted. The research carries out an integrated economic and financial analysis on the Sponge City Program from the perspectives of two stakeholders: the government and the project manager. Different stakeholders have unique perspectives on the management of water projects. This study has two parts: economic analysis and financial analysis. The economic analysis is from the government perspective, and considers all the economic, environmental, and social effects. The financial analysis is from the project manager’s perspective, and judges the financial feasibility of projects. Changde city, one of the demo cities of Sponge City Program, is chosen for the research. The results show that from the perspective of the government, the Sponge City Program should be promoted, because most water projects are economically feasible. From the perspective of the project manager, the program should not be invested in, because the water projects are financially infeasible. A more comprehensive and integrated plan for developing and managing the water projects of the Sponge City Program is required. Otherwise, the private sector may not be interested in investing in the water projects, and the water projects may not be operational in the long term.