Asian Development Bank, Reforming the Financing System for the Road Sector in the People’s Republic of China

High Street helped develop a report for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which provides policy recommendations in response to China’s Fuel Tax Reform. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) implemented a “Fuel Tax Reform” in 2009 that made significant changes to the way the country funds and delivers its “ordinary road” program. High Street provided policy recommendations for the following issues:

• The lack of a mechanism to regularly adjust tax rates for inflation and other factors;
• The need for additional revenues to meet planned ordinary road maintenance and construction targets;
• Use of debt financing for ordinary roads;
• Long-run feasibility of fuel taxes as a road funding source;
• Rationalization of roles and responsibilities of different levels of government;
• The need for a new national-level programmatic approach to road development and management;
• Improved fund management and allocation processes;
• The need for enhanced organizational capacity; and
• Development and application of performance management practices in the sector.