The Suzhou Creek Wetland Park planning program has been awarded the Engineering Excellence Award (EEA). This award has been referred to as“the Academy Awards of the engineering industry" by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The reward ceremony will be held on April 17 in Washington, D.C.

The program will gain the award for a sustainable design created by SWA, a company famous for its landscape architecture. The wetland park focuses on the balance between urban development and ecological protection. Making use of eco-engineering technology, it aims to develop eco-tourism resources and protect biodiversity so that vibrant communities can co-exist in a healthy ecological environment.

The wetland park program was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in 2009 and opened in 2010. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The park will comprise of three parts: a wetland water ecological zone, a wetland cultural landscape and wetland shelter forests.

After completion, the park will have 18 squares meters of river bank forests, 18,000 square meters of road shelter forests and pollution belts of nine thousand square meters. It will also contain other areas such as ecological ponds, reed belts, wetland ecological forests, lotus creeks and a wetland exhibition zone.

By Yang Jingya