Twelve provinces are faced with debt totalling 759.3 billion yuan (HK$920.8 billion) they have incurred from building toll roads, and money from fees paid by drivers could be trickling in too slowly in most regions to pay off the amount, according to a mainland media report.
Local authorities are the main shareholders in toll roads, and analysts caution that the impact of the debts on government finances needs to be addressed.
Faced with persistent public complaints about high tolls, authorities of the 12 provincial-level transportation departments released reports about their revenue and debt, according to The Beijing News. The newspaper published the figures yesterday from all 12 - Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Anhui, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Ningxia, Shandong and Yunnan.
Beijing is the only one making money, generating 387 million yuan in total profit, according to the published figures.
The other 11 are losing money or breaking even. Seven have each incurred losses of at least 1 billion yuan.
Every provincial-level report, which includes all four municipalities, revealed more than 10 billion yuan of outstanding debt incurred from the roads. The debt leader is Jiangsu, on the Yangtze River Delta, which owes 133.8 billion yuan.