China's Expressways : Connecting People and Markets for Equitable Development

This paper, prepared in response to the
Chinese government's request, examines the
institutional and financial arrangements under which the
expansion of the Chinese expressway network has taken place.
China's outstanding achievements in economic growth and
poverty reduction over the last fifteen years have been well
documented. The major emphasis has been on the development
of its infrastructure, particularly transport. All modes of
transport have seen their networks expanded, to provide the
infrastructure needed to support the broader development
goals. Road transport is vitally important and, among the
surface modes, has seen its share grow over the last ten
years from 45 percent to 60 percent in terms of passenger-km
and from 24 percent to 30 percent in terms of freight
ton-km. The road transport system has contributed greatly to
china's continuing economic and social development. The
expansion of the road network during the last 20 years was
made possible by rapid increases in public funding. Since
1990, the overall average growth in the Chinese road assets
has exceeded the overall growth in its Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and has helped to close the
'infrastructure gap' that existed at the beginning
of the period.