Starting from 2024, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has issued a new national standard for manhole covers (GB/T 23858-2023), which is mandatory for all municipal engineering projects across the country. The standard clearly stipulates that the load-bearing grade of manhole covers on main municipal roads should not be lower than D400 and their design service life should be no less than 30 years. Additionally, it introduces new requirements for anti-theft locking mechanisms and electronic chip traceability. This policy has accelerated the elimination of low-end gray cast iron products, driving the market penetration rate of ductile iron manhole covers to rise from 58% in 2020 to 79% in 2024. Data shows that although the average price of a single ductile iron manhole cover has increased by 18%, its full life-cycle cost is 25% lower than that of traditional products, making it the preferred material for urban renewal and pipeline network upgrades. 

Phase II Expansion of Smart Cast Iron Manhole Covers Pilot Project: Penetration Rate of 2027 Update Project to Exceed 30% 

Recently, 20 pilot cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have expanded the application scope of smart cast iron manhole covers. These products integrate functions such as displacement alarm, water level monitoring and gas sensing, which can provide real-time feedback on the status of manhole covers and underground pipeline environment data, effectively reducing the cost of municipal operation and maintenance. Currently, the proportion of smart cast iron manhole covers in the renewal projects of first-tier cities has reached 12%. With the optimization of NB-IoT/LoRa communication technology and the improvement of power supply battery life, it is expected that this proportion will exceed 30% by 2027. The added value per unit has increased from 800 yuan for traditional cast iron manhole covers to over 2,500 yuan, promoting the industry's transformation from hardware sales to "data services + operation and maintenance".