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Highways’ losses
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ON December 23, the Ministry of Transport revealed that China’s highways posted a loss of 66.1 billion yuan last year. According to news analysis from the online version of People’s Daily, it was the third consecutive year of making losses. The same news analysis concluded that China simply has built too many highways with a heavy burden of paying back bank loans.
It’s too early to say China on the whole has built too many highways, just from the statistics of three years leading up to 2013. Investment in highways, as in most other infrastructure, requires a long-term view. If the whole country’s transport can be as fast and efficient as that between Shanghai and nearby cities (linked by highways and railways), China’s travel business and overall economy will get a further shot in the arm.
The real problem is not that China has too many highways, but that in certain poor towns and villages, it is unnecessary to build as many highways as in more developed areas. In many villages and towns, ordinary roads featuring fast tracks are more than enough to meet current demand of development. Building too many highways there can incur undue financial burdens and give rise to corruption associated with construction.
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