Nanjing government signed an agreement on 26 May to buy China Railway Construction Co’s 80 per cent holding of the city’s road tunnel under the Yangtze River. The government paid Rmb4.6bn for the stake in the tunnel that CRCC spent Rmb4.12bn on constructing. The government purchase therefore represented a 4.83 per cent return on investment, according to China News Services. The remaining 20 per cent shareholding is held by Nanjing Transport Group and Pukou State Asset Management Co.

The 5,853-metre-long Nanjing Yangtze Tunnel is an express link between downtown Nanjing and the northern part of the city. It has six lanes and a designed speed of 80 kph. CRCC won the bid in October 2004 for the 34-year concession – 30 years of which as an operator.

This year, Nanjing government started a series of measures to reform toll collection and to develop an integrated road network. Buying a controlling stake in the tunnel is part of government efforts to reform and develop the local transport system.