Domestic Trade Impacts of the Expansion of the National Expressway Network in China
China's outstanding achievements in economic growth and poverty reduction over the last fifteen years have been well documented. A major element of that growth consisted of the development of its infrastructure, particularly transport. All mod...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/06/9727340/domestic-trade-impacts-expansion-national-expressway-network-china http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17410 |
| Summary: | China's outstanding achievements in
economic growth and poverty reduction over the last fifteen
years have been well documented. A major element of that
growth consisted of 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. Among the
surface modes (excluding pipelines or waterways), road
transport has seen its share grow from 45 percent to 60
percent in terms of passenger-km and from 24 percent to 30
percent in terms of freight ton-km. From 1990 to 2005,
during the period of the 8th, 9th and 10th Five-Year Plans,
China completed nearly 41,000 km of high-grade tolled
expressways comprising the national trunk highway system
(NTHS), or as it is now called, the national expressway
network (NEN). During this period approximately 400,000 km
of local and township roads were also improved. This was
achieved by investing upwards of US$40 billion per year,
with about one third of that amount allocated to development
of the NEN. Behind this overall strategy, the expressway
plan seeks to connect all cities with more than 200,000
people, serving as facilitator of economic and social
interactions as the economy comes to rely more and more on
road transport. In prioritizing the selection of cities
(nodes) to be connected, the planning process has
incorporated economic and transport objectives (including
trade and container traffic requirements, and tourism
needs), giving special consideration to poorer regions and
environmental issues. This will improve the regional
integration of the economy and allow growth dynamics to
expand from the coastal regions to the interior and western
parts of the country. |
|---|