Take the Siyang strip as an example. The original builder can reclaim the total amount of investment by conceding 10 percent of its rights, while still maintaining 90 percent of the income in the following 50 years. Zhu Jun, secretary general of the Academy of Operation and Management of Expressways, says such examples are common throughout China and are direct instances of the connivance of local governments.

Charging out of Control

After seeing the "October 1994- January 2044" sign at the Sijiaowei toll station, Wang Zechu wrote a proposal regarding this issue. In its reply given this July, Guangdong Communication Department admitted that it was illegal for county governments to transfer the ownership of its highways and levy toll charges for 50 years. However, the Department also pointed out that the concession happened before regulations were implemented, and such cases should be dealt with by new rules that should be passed by the state council.

Such provisions have yet to surface. The State Council is reportedly still soliciting comments for more detailed provisions concerning the transfer of ownership rights of highways.

Wang Zechu points out that the salary of a toll collector in some of the local toll stations can be as high as 8 thousand yuan per month, and the interest of communication departments is a significant factor in random patterns of toll charges.
"Roadways are supposed to serve the public, now things have been spoiled and the rights of those who use the roads are being violated!" says Wang.

Beijing Capital Road Development has been sued for several times because of its insistence of charging tolls despite having paid off the loan. It seems that people are drawing more and more attention to dubious toll charges.