The concept allows for the creation of fresh groundwater in a sustainable manner for use in the city’s green spaces. An international jury, consisting of experts from Italy, Sweden, and China, complimented the proposal for the way it combined coastal development, energy, water, and transport into an attractive urban design. The new coastal city will be built in Caofeidian, an industrial zone in North China on the Bohai Sea.

'Caofeidian has to become the model for China and the rest of the world of a Chinese ecological coastal city, said Dick Kevelam, DHV’s advisor on coastal development.

Because of the coastal location in a saltwater area, and because of the limited rainfall in the north of China, there is little fresh water available for the future inhabitants.

'One of this project’s challenges is to capture and recycle fresh water in as a sustainable manner as possible, said Kevelam. 'There is a lot of talk about sustainable urban planning in our business, and DHV has the expertise to actually bring it about in challenging projects.'
 
At high tide, the outer islands off the coast form a sea defence wall that offers flood protection for the lagoon, which is located behind. The city is to be built on islands in the lagoon. The islands will be raised a number of meters above the salt water, by drawing sand from the lagoon. The lagoon design will restore part of the original tidal mudflat coast in this area and will save those areas that still exist.

'In this case we’re not creating land in the sea, rather we’re returning water to the land in a controlled manner, thus recreating a natural dynamic', concluded Kevelam. Construction work will start in 2009.