"First of all, I propose to set up a road and bridge engineering company controlled by the China Development Bank to be responsible for the overall planning and construction of railways, highway trunk lines and large bridges and tunnels.

Roland made eye contact with Zinovi, a good-natured smile on his lips.

"Inspired by Mr. Zinovi, I believe that the National Road and Bridge Corporation should have land rights within 10 miles on both sides of the road and railway, and as the construction of transportation unfolds, the commercial value of the land on both sides of the road and railway will benefit from the easy transportation, and we can use two ways to exchange these land with appreciation potential for construction funds."

"The first is to lease the land on both sides of the road directly to immigrants or investors, and the lease term can be signed for up to 50 years, and within 50 years, the lessee has the right to use the space within 30 feet below the ground to 30 feet above the ground, as well as the right to sublease and inherit the aforementioned rights, and the rent can be paid in a lump sum or in installments - the installment interest rate is adjusted synchronously according to the changes in the central bank's base interest rate; After the expiration of the lease, the lessee or his successors may renew the lease on priority under the same conditions. ”

"Your Highness, the fifty-year lease is almost for life, what is the difference between selling it directly?" Zinovi asked.

"No matter how long the lease period is, it is also a rent, and the ownership of the land is still in the hands of the state, for a person, 50 years is a lifetime, but for a country, 50 years is just a short moment, as the country's decision-makers, we must make long-term plans, and we cannot leave the burden to future generations because we are greedy for temporary convenience." Roland replied indifferently.

Zinovi's gray eyebrows twitched, and he hung his head in deep thought.

"The above is the first way to use land financing, in addition, the National Road and Bridge Corporation can also develop these lands on its own, such as the establishment of a 'town construction and development company' controlled by it to provide real estate construction services for land tenants along the railway and highways, and the income obtained excludes operating costs, part of which is used to repay the principal and interest of investors' bonds, and the other part is used to build streets, sewage canals, garbage treatment plants, traffic platforms, public green spaces, Public service facilities in towns, such as public squares and public toilets, are open to local residents free of charge. ”

Roland took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and further elaborated on his thoughts: "In the actual operation process, the construction of urban public facilities should be at the forefront, so as to attract people to rent land and build houses, carry out various industrial and commercial activities, and settle in more residents, and the towns built up by relying on transportation arteries will also prosper; In order to provide more charging business for urban construction companies, enter a virtuous circle. ”

There was silence in the chamber, and the ministers pondered whether Roland's plan was feasible.

Rudolph lit his pipe and took a deep breath, saying something that was inconvenient for others to say, so he could only ask his son himself.

"Roland, there is only one difference between your plan and Zinovi's plan, Zinovi advocates that roads and railways be handed over to private management, while you advocate government-run operation, according to your proposal, there seems to be no other way for private individuals to intervene in transportation construction except to invest in the stocks and bonds of the National Road and Bridge Engineering Company? At the same time, the National Road and Bridge Corporation has to be responsible for the construction of transportation on a national scale, and has to swell into a behemoth, how many workers do you estimate to employ enough, 100,000 or 80,000? How do you plan to address the potential drawbacks of such a large state-owned enterprise, which is very complex to manage, and because of its monopoly on domestic transportation construction, I am afraid that it will suffer from sluggishness, rigidity and inefficiency? ”

To be able to ask such a pointed question is enough to see that His Majesty Rudolph has not slackened since the founding of the country, and is constantly learning new knowledge, absorbing new ideas, and constantly improving to adapt to the progress of this country.

"Your Majesty, you have said that the National Road and Bridge Corporation is neither possible nor should it personally preside over the actual construction of every road and railway, in fact, this company only needs to be responsible for those key projects that are extremely difficult to construct or related to national defense and security, and for most ordinary projects, it only fulfills its planning and supervision obligations, just like the central bank supervises private commercial banks, but has not carried out deposit and loan business to compete with private banks." Roland replied.

Rudolph was still thinking about the purpose of his son's words, and Zinovi suddenly raised his head and stared at Roland with blazing eyes.

"What does Your Highness mean...... Can private builders contract most of the road sections from the National Road and Bridge Corporation? ”

Roland nodded with a smile: "Not only can it be contracted, but it can also be subcontracted twice and three times...... No matter how many layers the project is outsourced, I only require two points: first, the project passes the quality acceptance on schedule; Second, spend within budgetary constraints. ”

"In this way, the National Road and Bridge Company will actually only personally undertake those projects that private builders are unwilling to undertake or are not allowed to undertake, and in other projects, private capital will be introduced to fully compete, and if necessary, it will be supervised and guided to prevent vicious ......competition," Zinovi breathed a sigh of relief, and had to admit that Roland was more thoughtful than himself.

"When it comes to engineering outsourcing, I have a small suggestion." Roland took another sip of water, smiled under the gaze of His Majesty the King and the ministers, and said a "crazy thing" that almost scared everyone down: "The National Road and Bridge Company does not provide the contractor with a copper plate construction fund, nor does it provide any form of credit guarantee for the contractor's construction loan, and the funds for the construction of roads and bridges are all raised by the contractor himself." ”

Silent.

Awkward silence.

Confused silence.

In the end, it was His Majesty the King who broke the silence, and only he didn't mind asking his son what kind of medicine was sold in his gourd.

"If you don't give money to others, and you want others to build roads for you, how can anyone in the world be willing to do such a thankless stupid thing?" Rudolph looked at his son suspiciously, "You'd better not tell me that you are going to send an army to force construction workers to work without pay." ”

Roland shook his head and smiled: "Your Majesty, where did you think you went?" I don't pay the contractors cash, but in lieu of payment, I give them a 'road and bridge concession' for a certain number of years. ”

The so-called "franchise (BOT)", that is, a way for private enterprises to participate in infrastructure construction and provide public services to the society, can be subdivided into three links: construction, operation and transfer.

It is common practice for a government to enter into a concession agreement with a private company for an infrastructure project, such as the construction of a railway, granting the contracting party the responsibility to invest, finance, construct and maintain the project, and to recoup the investment and make a profit by charging users or selling products to pay off the loan for the duration of the concession specified in the agreement. The government has the right to supervise and regulate this infrastructure, and upon the expiration of the concession period, the private enterprises of the contracting parties hand over the infrastructure to the government free of charge or for a fee.