Success factors for financial sustainability of toll road projects: empirical evidence from China

Abstract

Toll roads are believed to have a high ability to attract private investment since they are able to recover directly the costs of their operation and construction through toll charges. However, toll road development can only be attractive to investors and lenders if the long-term sustainability is achieved. This paper identifies and discusses various issues that government and project developers have to deal with from selected case studies. The seven selected toll road projects are priority sections of the National Trunk Highway System (NTHS) and located in strategic provinces in China. The issues examined are related to policy support, regional development, the fund-raising model, project development and the financial structure. This study reveals critical success factors to achieve sustainable toll road projects in the planning stage and to control and enhance the financial sustainability in the executing stage.