Toll roads in china. How roads are built in China (4 photos)
The records set by the Chinese for the construction of bridges and roads are impressive. The other day, they laid a junction for the new railway station in 9 hours.
1.5 hours - and the bridge is ready
1,500 workers and 23 excavators connected 3 major railway lines to the new Nanlong line in southern China overnight. At the same time, they not only paved the road, but also installed traffic lights and other means of control along it. As explained Deputy Head of Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group - Chief Builder railways in China Zhang Daosong, the project was completed in record time due to the fact that the workers were organized into 7 teams, which simultaneously performed various tasks. But it is clear that the secret of China's success is not only good governance.
It's also about technology. So, in 2016, the Chinese deployed two bridges with a length of 100 m at 90 degrees in 1.5 hours. Huge structures were assembled along the railroad bed, and then installed perpendicularly on prepared supports. At the same time, the busy highway under the railway tracks was not blocked - everything happened right above the cars.
And in 2015, the Chinese dismantled the old one and assembled a new 6-lane road bridge in Beijing in 43 hours. During this time, they also managed to apply the markings. For the new surface of the bridge, a 1300-ton structure was needed, which was transported ready-made. As explained by a representative of the contractor, a new technology of "integrative replacement" was used. Renovation in the usual way would have taken at least 2 months, but the key transport passage in northeast Beijing, connecting the 3rd ring road, the expressway to the airport and highway 101, could not be closed for so long.
They build in a week what we do in a year
750 m per hour - at this rate, new roads are being built in the Celestial Empire today. All expressways have been built in the last 20 years! How did the "Chinese road miracle" happen and why can't we learn from this experience?
“In terms of construction, China has long overtaken not only us, but the whole world,” explained AiF President of the Union of Cost Estimating Engineers Pavel Goryachkin... - By production volumes building materials he is simply out of competition, even the Americans are far behind. A simple example: we produce 79-80 million tons of cement per year, and the Chinese - more than 1 billion tons! This is a serious indicator, especially since they do not export cement. They build as many highways in a week as we do in a year. We used to laugh at Chinese fakes, and they, like a sponge, absorb all the new technologies. Now we are not talking about manual labor, when a million Chinese were driven away and they dug some kind of foundation pit with shovels. No! We are talking about high-tech construction. Today, the Chinese produce on their territory almost the entire range of necessary construction machinery and equipment. Chinese engineers study in the best universities of the world, are trained at the best construction sites, and this is in every possible way supported by the state. They understand that construction is one of the locomotives of the economy, and therefore they invest. The Chinese are very hardworking and talented people. The technological solutions show how they are progressing.And with us, even with the amount of money that we pour into our construction sites, for some reason it is not possible to work like that. Of course, we can do something: the equipment is modern, and the market for building materials is developed, and there are engineers, but ... In China, construction is a priority for the state, and over the past two years, we, builders, have only heard threats and insults from officials: they say, we do not need shared construction, all developers are thieves and crooks. Rosstat records a decrease in the volume of manufactured building materials by 10%. According to the Supreme Arbitration Court, builders are in the forefront by the number of bankruptcies. How can the industry develop here ?! "
We add that in China, government and regional officials are planning how to grow transport network- taking into account the development of the economy, the direction of freight and passenger traffic, the growth in the number of cars. A lot of money is allocated for this. But, although the cost of 1 km of a highway in our countries is approximately comparable, in the Celestial Empire they are building many times faster and better - the agreed service life of the highway there is 25 years.
The only good news is that our builders already have joint projects with the Chinese. The largest road construction corporations in the Celestial Empire want to invest in Russia, which means that it is necessary to learn and adopt their experience. And not only for engineers and builders, but also for managers.
- one of the most progressive countries in the world. Despite the fact that roads in China began to be actively built relatively recently - since 1984 (before that it was believed that there were more important things to do), today they are high-quality, widely branched and amaze with their pace of construction.
Why so fast
Since China began to develop, the government has come to the conclusion that it is impossible to establish production and marketing if the country does not have high-quality routes for the rapid delivery of raw materials and goods. It was decided that a large part of the budget should be spent on road construction. The most ambitious work was carried out in the period from 2005 to 2010, it spent about 17-18 billion dollars per year. At the moment, about 12 billion dollars are annually invested in the construction of roads.
Today, the speed of road construction in China is about 750 meters in one hour. Many may think that some special technology is used in the country, but no - this is the result of the correct organization of labor. Roads are made not by a government organization, but by a contractor who does all the work at his own expense. He receives payment only upon completion of all the work stipulated in the contract. This encourages him to work faster. But such a rate does not lead to a decrease in quality, because the contractor provides a warranty period of service, which on average is 25 years.
Classification of Chinese roads
Roads in China can be divided into several types, depending on the classifier. Depending on the width: high-speed - 25 m; 1st class - 25.5 m; 2nd class - 12 m; 3rd class - 8.5 m; 4th class - 7 m. Management: national; provincial; county; urban; village; special purpose.
Fare payment
Most roadways in China are free to travel. Paid ones are divided into two types: state (built at the expense of the budget) and commercial (built by contractors for their own money or at the expense of private firms). State roads become free after 15 years of operation, and commercial ones after 25.
The fee depends on the type of road, time of year and day. The approximate fare per kilometer is from RMB 0.25 to RMB 0.6. Unlike European countries or, which is located in the neighborhood, in Chinese cities all roads are free, even if these are very large interchanges. But the downside is that there is not always a free alternative to toll roads.
Bridges in China
The active development of transport infrastructure prompted the Chinese to build bridges, which are very difficult and expensive to build. The bridge over the Yangtze River, 32.5 km long, is built on a deep-sea foundation, like many others in this country. It made it possible to connect land with the Shanghai port, which is the largest in the world in terms of turnover, but because of the shallow water of the river, it could not be built closer to the coast. Despite its impressive length, the bridge is not the largest in China; there is an even longer one - 36.5 km (across the Jiaodzhou Bay). Today the people's republic is busy building the world's longest bridge: Macau-Hong Kong, 58 km long.
An article about roads in China: the history of roads, how roads are being built in the PRC now, the secrets of the strength and durability of Chinese roads. At the end of the article - a video about how the Chinese build roads.
The content of the article:
Roads for China have become a kind of symbol of successful public policy aimed at strengthening the country. Considerable attention is paid to the quality and speed of construction of highways that cut across the entire country and allow you to easily overcome rather long distances.
Half a century ago, the "old" China was an undeveloped country based on an agrarian-oriented economy. The Communist Party believed that there were a number of more pressing issues for the development of the state than the need to build roads.
As a result, the state was in the bottom lines of the rating of the countries of the world in terms of the length of roads with asphalt pavement. In 1949, all the transport arteries of the country totaled over 80 thousand kilometers.
The density of highways was vanishingly insignificant - there were only 0.8 kilometers of roads per 100 square kilometers of area.
Photo: a road in China in the 30s
After the creation of the People's Republic of China, a course was taken to restore the destroyed civil war farms. It was necessary to establish internal connections, and this required roads.
By 1952, the Chinese government managed to increase the length of the highways to 126,700 kilometers.
In the 1950s, the country required the expansion of a suitable economic zone, which entailed the development of border, previously unclaimed areas. The scale of construction was shocking - new roads were laid to the remote mountainous regions of the country, and a network of highways began to develop in the border areas. At that time, highways were laid from Sichuan to Tibet, from Qinghai to Tibet.
The emergence of communist statehood required the strengthening of the country's defense capability and the mobility of the movement of troops. Therefore, for defense purposes, the construction of roads was undertaken in the southeast, northeast, southwest and along the coastal line of the PRC.
The growth of the economy brought the total length of paved roads to 500,000 kilometers by the end of the 1950s.
The 1960s were marked by the incessant large-scale construction of transport routes. The emphasis was placed on strengthening technical re-equipment, the length of roads with hard pavement continued to increase. Roads with a surface of the highest and highest classes appeared, allowing to develop significant speeds.
The middle of the 70s was marked by a full-fledged repair and expansion of the highway from Qinghai to Tibet. As a result of the redesign, the highway became the first paved road in the world located so high above sea level.
Photo: Qinghai-Tibet road
Considering the difficult terrain of the Middle Kingdom and its cultural traditions, in parallel with the development of road construction, it was also required to create bridges that would be durable, fitting into the classical Chinese canon.
During this period, bridges of the so-called "Chinese specificity" were built - arched structures made of stone, reinforced concrete and beams had double bends, withstanding preliminary stress.
Over the thirty years since the establishment of the PRC, despite the difficulties of economic development, road construction has developed, demonstrating stable growth. By the end of the 1970s, the roads had reached 900,000 kilometers, which meant an average annual roadbed of 30,000 kilometers. The density of roads has increased, amounting to 100 square kilometers already 9.3 kilometers.
The rethinking of the role of transport arteries at the government level led to active work at the lower levels of government, a propaganda machine was turned on, urging all fellow citizens to the fact that if the country wants to become prosperous and rich, then good roads must be built for this.
The government of the country has embarked on a plan to build an extensive network of highways of national importance and high-speed national highways. The plan contained a key goal, and the path to achieving it was broken down into stages. At the same time, the scale of road construction has steadily increased, and the quality of roads has improved.
They even developed a special standard for the quality of the roadway, the observance of which was strictly carried out.
The emergence of high-speed, high-quality roads has made the backward road industry a very prosperous one. Funding for the ambitious road project has undergone a change, and additional funding sources have begun to emerge.
In addition to the amounts allocated from the state and local budgets, excise taxes on fuel were introduced. In 1984, the State Council of the republic decided to increase the road maintenance fee and began collecting the newly introduced duties on the purchase of a car. It was allowed to charge money for travel on high quality highways.
Since 1985, legislative acts that ensure the stability of funding for the "construction of the century" have been poured out of a cornucopia. Supported by the government, the industry was able to reach a total road length of 1,350,000 kilometers by the end of the century for a total road density of 14 kilometers per 100 square kilometers. Roads of the second category grew from 1.3% in the late 1970s to 12.5% by the turn of the 21st century.
The condition of the central roads connecting cities has improved. The level of rural and county highways has increased, their quality has improved, some provinces proudly reported on the 100% paving of asphalt on all roads from the second class and higher, using new technologies. As a result, this led to the fact that in all counties of the country in the majority settlements roads were built including small villages.
In the photo: a mountain road in China
Expressways have become the best example of road construction. When the first 18.5-kilometer Jiading-Shanghai highway was launched in 1988, they tested it, making sure that the technology was reliable and correct.
Over a decade of construction, China has done the amount of work that developed countries have spent at least forty years on. The level of road construction has grown from a primitive shovel and wheelbarrow attached to a bicycle to a manufacturer of high-tech road equipment. The gap between the PRC and the prosperous in terms of economic development countries was rapidly declining.
Appetite comes with eating…
Pictured: modern road construction in China
On the currently the growth rate of multi-lane roads in China is about 30,000 kilometers annually, and the technology of placing concrete slabs poured on top with concrete guarantees a 25-year "shelf life" in continuous operation.
Given the harshness of Chinese law, for auto performers road works penalties are provided in case of violation of construction standards for the entire warranty period. The punishments are strict, but, as a result, the roads are excellent.
The growth rates of the roads of the Celestial Empire have reached fantastic speeds. At the beginning of the 21st century, 10,000 kilometers of roads were built. Two years later, there were already 20,000 kilometers of them, in 2008 - 60,000 kilometers, and in 2013 China already owned 4 million kilometers of highways, of which a tenth were modern highways!
By 2020, in China, by decision of the government, the total length of roads should be at least 3,000,000 kilometers.
The Chinese have shown a serious attitude by adopting the Transport Development Program (until 2015). According to the Program, the entire country was permeated with a network of express roads connecting all cities with a population exceeding the threshold of 200,000 people.
Today, there are more than 300,000 bridges in China, of which more than a thousand are more than a kilometer long. Of the seven, the most long bridges the world, by the way, seven are located in China!
Often, recently erected is put as an example. So that the port in Shanghai could receive large-tonnage ships, a special port was built on the neighboring island, to which an eight-lane road was drawn from the mainland along the bridge, the length of which was 32.5 kilometers! The construction lasted three years, during this time the bridge was built, equipped with high-quality coating and lighting.
Photo: Donghai Bridge
In terms of the number of available highways, the country ranks second in the world, and this despite the fact that all high-speed highways arose within just 20 years.
The authorities at all levels keep the construction under control, although money for it comes from contractors. The state pays for the contractor's work only after the work has been completely handed over. Moreover, no price increases and going beyond the limit of the set amount of the contract are not allowed.
The high speed of construction is largely the result of such a policy, because the faster and better the road is built, the faster the return on investment.
Sadly, in ten days the Chinese build about the same number of roads as the entire road service of Russia “mastered” in 2008.
The "secret ingredient" of Chinese builders
In the photo: a multi-level interchange in Shanghai
There is a large money supply circulating in China, which is directed to maintain the necessary infrastructure. They try to build roads according to the latest technology, thus bypassing the investment of money in their innovation in the near future.
In the period from 2005 to 2010, investments in the network of high-speed national highways amounted to 18 billion dollars annually, but now that all highways are in operation, the costs have decreased slightly, amounting to 12 billion. Celestial roads have reached a quality that even European highways cannot boast. except for Italian.
Technological rules make China's roads the best. The main thing is to follow a simple and effective construction scheme:
- a plump pillow of sand and gravel is poured;
- metal fittings are laid on top;
- everything is poured with concrete;
- the concrete is rolled into a thick layer of asphalt.
How is the movement organized
Any movement of transport and speed limits on the territory of the country is constantly monitored:
- cameras are installed everywhere;
- a single violation of the speed limit adds a penalty point to the driver's dossier;
- it is permissible to score 12 points per year, if it turns out more, they are deprived of their rights and sent for retraining;
- foreigners cannot drive cars.
- China - 2.9;
- Brazil - 3.6;
- Russia - 13.
In China, it is customary to study the costs of the global road market, and then charge contractors within the country half the amount. Payment is made only on the fact of the work performed, and the quality should suit even the most picky commission, which does not accept any finishing touches.
The contractor independently insures the built highway, making repairs from insurance funds.
What roads are there in China
Photo: 50-lane road in China
Most of the highways in the Middle Kingdom are free. There are two types of paid ones:
- state (budget);
- commercial (personal).
Conclusion
Economic development is impossible without good roads. China is doing nothing special, although economic growth has been described as nothing less than a miracle. A well-thought-out state program, multiplied by a system of adequate punishments and rewards, found sources of funding - these are the components of China's success in building roads!
Video on how the Chinese build roads:
In a May decree, President Putin ordered the construction of the Russian part of the Europe-Western China (EWC) transport corridor by 2024. By October 1, the corridor route should be included in the trunk infrastructure plan.
The entire route is over 8000 km. The roads in Belarus, Kazakhstan and China are almost ready. But the Russian side caused serious controversy in the government.
There are four route options, all of which end at the border with Kazakhstan at the Sagarchin border point. There are also at least six estimates of the cost of the EZK, say a participant in the meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov and two officials. Until now, the main route is considered the route through Kazan, developed by the state-owned company Avtodor. Her spokesman declined to comment.
In the materials for the meetings on the trunk infrastructure plan (the copy was reviewed by Vedomosti, officials confirmed the authenticity), the total cost of construction and reconstruction of all roads of the EZK project was estimated at 1 trillion rubles, of which 825 billion came from the budget, two officials confirmed this. The cost estimate can be significantly lower if not all roads on the route are included, the meeting participant explains: funding for the reconstruction of some roads may be provided separately.
The minister hastened
At the end of March, the current Minister of Transport Yevgeny Dietrich told reporters that the construction of the first private highway, the Meridian Highway, had already begun. The company denied this information. "Meridian" conducts research and design on the site, which runs from the Sagarchin checkpoint to the intersection with existing track regional significance A-300, then replied Roman Nesterenko "Vedomosti". “In a broad sense, this is also construction, but still not quite true,” he said. Construction will begin when the company agrees with the state, he said.
The main topic of the discussion: to allocate funds for a new high-speed highway, so that in the future, even to start up drone trucks, or to reconstruct the M5 and M7 highways that go through the cities, the vice-president of the Center for Infrastructure Economics Pavel Chistyakov knows: the latter is clearly not enough for a high-speed freight route, although it is necessary to reconstruct the routes.
In the first version of the backbone infrastructure plan of August 15, the EZK was estimated at 560 billion rubles, of which 340 billion from the federal budget.
But the majority at the meeting with Akimov on August 29 spoke in favor of adding another road to the plan of the main infrastructure - the private highway "Meridian", said two participants in this meeting and confirmed three federal officials. Akimov's spokesman declined to comment.
The final decision on the route will be made at a meeting with Dmitry Medvedev, the date has not yet been set, said a meeting participant and confirmed by a federal official. The report to Medvedev, which Akimov will sign this week, will include Meridian, the official said.
In 2016, "Meridian" was recognized as an offshoot of the EZK - by the decision of the government commission on transport. The road has been developed since 2013 by the co-owner of the Russian Holding Company (RHK) Alexander Ryazanov, deputy chairman of the board of Gazprom in the same years when Medvedev was chairman of the board of directors, and his partner Roman Nesterenko. In mid-July, Medvedev instructed the RHC's proposal to build a road to be worked out, two officials say.
Among those who are in favor of including "Meridian" in the plan are the Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin, Akimov himself and several other high-ranking participants in the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, two officials said. Against - Ministry of Transport: a representative of the ministry explains what to include in the plan in full private project impossible.
Meridian does not require budgetary investments and is estimated at 594 billion rubles. But the initiators are asking not to build competing roads during the payback period (to postpone the construction of the Avtodor State Concern's EZK to a later date), in the event of the nationalization of the project, to pay them the market value, to compensate for losses in the event of administrative travel restrictions (at least 15 billion rubles per year for transit transport from China) or changes in tax legislation (the mechanism in the draft law "On Protection and Encouragement of Investments" is being developed by the Ministry of Finance), according to the materials for the meetings, and at the regional level, "Meridian" asks for property tax benefits. It is impractical to build two parallel roads in one direction of the Sagarchin point - they will compete for traffic, it is better to split the route, says Olga Revzina, partner of Herbert Smith Freehills.
A kilometer of "Meridian" is almost 2 times cheaper than the "Avtodor" line, including due to the coordination of special (close to European) construction standards. The Ministry of Finance supports the "Meridian" and proposes to abandon the main route of the EZK, say two officials and three participants in the meetings. The representative of the Ministry of Finance does not comment on this. The same opinion was also expressed by an employee of the presidential administration who was present at the meeting, said a participant in the meeting with Akimov.
The main difference between "Meridian" besides the lack of budget funding - it runs through the south of Russia, far from large cities. The downside is that the road does not improve transport links between agglomerations, as written in the spatial development strategy of the Ministry of Economic Development, and is very sensitive to the overlap of external borders in the event of geopolitical tension. The plus is that this will allow saving on land (agricultural land is being bought) and making the road the shortest way, which will make it possible to transport goods from Shanghai to Hamburg in 10 days. She will give impetus and development southern territories: industrial parks will appear, agricultural products will be exported to Asia, according to the meeting materials.
Meridian can be financed by VEB and MC "Leader", as well as foreign investors, according to the materials for the meetings. At the beginning of June VEB agreed with the China Development Bank to co-finance projects related to the strategic initiative of the PRC "One Belt - One Road". The first deputy chairman of VEB Nikolai Tsekhomsky attended the meeting with Akimov and supported the inclusion of the project in the trunk infrastructure plan as part of the One Belt - One Road initiative, the meeting participant said. "Meridian" could become a key one on the EZK route, confirmed through a representative Tsekhomsky: VEB is considering options for structuring this project. The Leader's representative did not respond to the request.
The initiators of "Meridian" are preparing for the construction at their own peril and risk. They completed engineering surveys for 433 km of the highway, are conducting them for another 1,100 km, received licenses for the development of five sand and gravel pits, four water licenses, agreed on 10 forest development projects, and formalized rights to 90% of the land along a 2,000-kilometer route (75 % ransom, the rest is lease or easement), prepared pre-project documentation, began designing, received technical conditions for the reorganization of communications, according to the meeting materials. Such data were provided by the project participants themselves for various meetings, the official confirms.
A 100-meter corridor of land was bought out, almost 2,000 plots were bought in total, Nesterenko told Vedomosti, but he does not want to talk about the costs.
They bought 20,000-30,000 hectares of land, estimates the general director of the Zemer group, Ilya Terentyev, spent, according to rough estimates, from 1.2 billion to 1.7 billion rubles. Based on the cadastral value, the land for the construction of the road cost no less than 1.2 billion rubles, agrees Irina Vishnevskaya, general director of the Irvikon consulting company. In total, according to her estimate, the initiators of the project have already spent up to 10 billion rubles.
For transit trucks, the estimated cost of 1 km of travel along the "Meridian" is 30 rubles, for a truck within Russia - 5 rubles, for a car - 2 rubles, according to the materials. Investors are going to earn money on fares, services and gas stations, about 200 of them are planned in total. Most likely, the tariffs for transit and Russian trucks will be equalized - 15 rubles. for 1 km, says Nesterenko.
The initiators of the project expect to intercept part of the container traffic of the Suez Canal, the meeting participant knows that the cargo will pass in 10 days instead of 45. The financial model of the project is ready; traffic of the Suez Canal, only 3.41% of this traffic will allow you to get a good result. From Chengdu to Warsaw, the goods will arrive in five days, and by sea - in 40-50, stressed Nesterenko.
There are already examples of private roads in Russia - Zapadny speed diameter in St. Petersburg belongs to the investor LLC "Magistral of the Northern Capital" (with the participation of VTB), the road was built under a PPP agreement. So the model with private ownership of the road is not a problem, says Fedor Teselkin, head of PPP practice in Russia, Freshfields.
Under such an agreement, the state can give the necessary guarantees to the investor, formalizing them as subsidies in case of special circumstances, but it will be very difficult to implement such a project under the PPP law in eight regions at once, says Vladimir Kilinkarov, head of the Russian PPP practice at Dentons.
The question is whether investors and lenders will be ready to accept the risk of traffic on the Meridian, Teselkin says, while in Russia this has only been possible in projects directly next to or within Moscow, such as the Odintsovo bypass and the first section of the M11. Perhaps, in relation to such a large project, certain guarantees from the state will still be needed, he sums up.
FROM NOWHERE
Half a century ago, China was one of the most backward countries in terms of paved roads. The PRC government believed that there were more important tasks ... The situation began to change only in the 1980s, when it became clear that it was impossible to go on without modern road infrastructure. There was even a slogan: "If we want to get rich, we must first build roads." During this time, the government adopted the first plan for a network of state expressways and the corresponding quality standards were developed.
We have decided on the sources of financing for construction (state budget funds, local budgets, road maintenance fees, additional duties when buying a car, excise taxes on fuel). Since 1985, all this has been formalized in separate laws (in our country, many organizational problems have not been resolved to this day). At the same time, the state allowed the introduction of high-class highway tolls to return construction loans.
The first expressway, Shanghai - Jiading (18.5 km), was opened in 1988, after which the construction of such highways rushed along. Already in the first decade, China has achieved results in road construction that took Europe and the United States more than half a century! The construction of expressways raised the level of all road construction, allowed the backward industry, where the main means of production were a shovel, a wheelbarrow, a hand roller and millions of low-paid workers, to enter modern level... Serious manufacturers of road equipment have appeared.
The construction of high-speed roads continues now, and at the same fantastic pace. By the beginning of the XXI century, their length exceeded 10 thousand km. In 2002 - already 20 thousand, and in 2008 - 60 thousand km! By the end of 2013, the total length of highways exceeded 4.1 million km, including 104.5 thousand km of expressways. According to the Transport Development Program for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), in the coming years, a network of high-speed roads will be formed in China, which will connect all regions and almost all cities with a population of over 200 thousand people. Today there are 300 thousand bridges in China (one thousand of them are more than a kilometer long). In terms of the number of modern roads, the country took second place in the world, and all highways were built in 20 years!
All of China is covered by a network of high-speed toll roads, some of which have no free alternative. Drivers pay, but do not complain: you can quickly get to anywhere in the country!
SECRET TECHNOLOGIES
The Chinese have not invented anything new. Government and regional institutions plan how the transport network should grow - taking into account the development of the economy, the direction of freight and passenger traffic, and the growth in the number of cars. There is a lot of money in the country, including free money that can be used to create a modern infrastructure. Rhetorical question: Why was it not done in Russia, when the country was literally flooded with petrodollars? In 2005-2010, investments in the creation of a network of national expressways in China amounted to 17-18 billion US dollars per year, and now, when the main arteries have already been commissioned, they spend 12 billion annually.
The federal or local authorities have complete control over the construction, but it is usually carried out with the money of the contractor. And the state or the government of the region will pay him only after all the work is done, and precisely within the framework of the amount that is spelled out in the contract. The high rates are a direct result of such a system: builders want to get their money back as quickly as possible. At the same time, not to the detriment of quality: the agreed service life of the roads, as a rule, is not less than 25 years.
MONEY PER TABLE
Most roads in China are free. There are also two types of toll roads: state (built at the expense of the budget) and commercial (built at the expense of companies' own or borrowed funds). For a simple motorist, there is no difference between them, but according to the law, the state road should become free after 15 years of operation, and the commercial one after 25 years.
Payment for cars - from 0.25 to 0.6 yuan (1.3-3.3 rubles) per 1 km, depending on the time of day, season, etc. For trucks - from 3 to 7 rubles, which is not much different from European tariffs. But there are two differences from Europe or neighboring Japan. First, in cities, all roads are free, even if these are futuristic six-level interchanges, like in Shanghai. And in the same Tokyo, the entrance to the multi-level city freeway is paid. Secondly, there is not always a free alternative road, and in such cases a separate decision is made at the government level each time.
I have traveled a lot on Chinese roads. Honestly, there are old, broken ones among them, especially in the north of the country. But the new roads, junctions, bridges, and the pace of their construction are amazing. Sometimes the area is not even recognizable: I remember that last year there was an open field here and there were some shackles, but today there is a high-speed highway, and on the second level, and new interchanges are being built ...
Most impressed by the Donghai Bridge, built three years ago. When you look at a map, you get the feeling that it leads nowhere and breaks off into the open sea. But it’s not like that. The port of Shanghai, the world's largest in terms of turnover, is located in the shallow mouth of the Yangtze River and cannot accept modern huge tankers and container ships. To solve this problem, a new port was built on the small island of Yanshan - just for such ships. And they connected the island to the mainland with a 32.5 km long bridge.
Fantastic structure! Six - eight lanes for traffic, excellent coverage, lighting ... You are driving like in the open sea! So, Donghai was built in just three years! And it is not the longest bridge in China: there is a 36.5 km long bridge across the Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong province. And for reference: seven of the ten longest bridges in the world are located in China.
The 20 millionth Shanghai is quite successful in solving its transport problems. The main “secret of the company” is to build as many new roads and junctions as possible.
BROTHERS FOREVER?
How can the Chinese experience be useful to us? What can be done together to defeat the first eternal Russian misfortune?
A number of joint projects are already being implemented: for example, new border crossings are being built on the Russian-Chinese border, highways leading to them. It is planned to build two bridges across the Amur: Blagoveshchensk - Khaikhe (there is already a project) and in the Trans-Baikal Territory, near the village of Pokrovka. Both Chinese and Russian companies will work. The largest road building corporations in the Middle Kingdom are very interested in the opportunity to participate in our main infrastructure projects - for the construction of the Central Ring Road in the Moscow region, a new high-speed highway Western Europe- Western China (for them this is the most important transit direction!). And the main object that at least two leading Chinese companies have set their sights on in recent months is the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. As soon as it became known about this project, a large delegation of Chinese experts immediately arrived in Kerch. And they showed me the Donghai Bridge for a reason!
“The Chinese partners would like to invest about five trillion rubles in the development of our transport infrastructure over the next five years, and I believe that our cooperation has very good prospects,” RF Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov is convinced. - We have already managed to come to an agreement with partners on a number of key issues. First, Russian and Chinese companies will work together at all stages. Secondly, Chinese banks and funds are ready to invest in joint projects, moreover, directly, in yuan and rubles. Thirdly, there is support on the very high level both from our side and from the Chinese side.
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By the way, on average, the construction of 1 km of a four-lane highway in China costs $ 2.9 million. We have about $ 7 million, but this includes funds for the purchase of land, the transfer of communications and other expenses, which cost 40-50% of the total. So the prices are comparable. But for some reason, the results are different: we build a little more than 600 km of roads a year, and in China - up to 10,000 km! True, in the PRC, up to 4% of GDP was invested in road construction, while in our country - only 1% ... So it turns out that now the total length of paved roads in China is 4.5 times greater than in Russia. But even 30 years ago, the Chinese had nothing to brag about. Maybe in a few decades they will tighten our roads too?
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