Studies On The Highway Investment And Financing Models Of China

As an important transportation infrastructure, highway plays a tremendous role in botheconomic progress and social progress. It greatly shortens the distance and time between cities,increases the flow speed of social resources and makes better use of them. With the developmentof economy, the demand for transportation is increasing; the demand for highway is increasing atthe same time. However, highway is inseparable from the support of capital, as all theinfrastructure constructions. Just as the relationship between productivity and productiverelations, in the development process of the highway, in some stage, the demand for fundmatches the financing ability of the financing mode. However, with the constant development ofhighway, the demand for fund rises, the original financing mode could not meet the current funddemand any more. This situation lasts, and then the financing gap appears. It is possible to usesome economic means to fill the financing gap temporarily. But some changes on the investmentand financing system is needed to solve the problem thoroughly.This article starts with the economic theory relating to highway, and then, the fact thathighway is a kind of quasi-public facilities is shown. After that, the positive correlation betweenhighway and the economic development, the economic characteristics of highway and the theoryabout how to decide the toll are introduced. All of these form the theoretical basis for thefollowing discussion. After studying the history of the investment and financing on highway andthe characteristics of the investment and financing system on highway in China, the presentsituation of investment and financing on highway is deeply analyzed in this paper. And threeproblems are found.The shortage of the central fiscal funds, the unreasonable investment andfinancing structure and the increasing investment and financing risk. The three factors interact,and there is a causal relationship among them. It is vital to understand the current situation andfind a resolution out. Using the highway fund system in the USA for reference, a highway fundsystem with Chinese characters is proposed. Introducing the highway fund system, which brings adjustment on the source of the fund, the spent of the fund and guarantee effect, will change thecurrent unreasonable state of the investment and financing system on highway in China. In theend, an investment and financing system on highway comprised of mainly special fund systemon highway, combined with some other marketability investment and financing methods isproposed as the solution. And some ideas about the compensation mechanism is also proposed.In this investment and financing system, the special fund system is dominant to ensure thenormalization and the rationality of the fund, and to form stable fund source. Meanwhile, thespecial fund system provide fund for other marketability investment and financing methods,which can increase the confidence of private capital to invest on highway construction, andpromote the development of marketability investment and financing.