Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway to stop tolls

The Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway, which connects the provincial capital with a major production base in the prosperous Pearl River Delta, will stop collecting tolls starting on March 3, according to a notice released on Wednesday by the Guangdong Provincial Expressway Development Co, which operates the road.

It said the province's transportation department had sent an official letter ordering a halt to the tolls. The company, which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, will continue to run and manage the expressway and handle maintenance, the notice said.

The expressway is the first to stop charging tolls on the mainland, it said.

According to regulations governing highway toll collection introduced in 2004, highway operators on the mainland generally must not charge fees for more than 30 years, but the toll collection can be extended under certain conditions.

Completed in 1989, the 22-kilometer expressway, a branch line of Shenyang-Haikou Expressway, has played a role in advancing economic ties among the cities in the Delta.

The expressway represents the start of advanced expressway networks in Guangdong province and the mainland, it said. It links two major metropolises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and aids the integration of Guangzhou and Foshan.