An advisory panel on the privatization of four road-related public entities will prioritize existing expressway construction plans on the basis of profitability, the panel's chief said Wednesday.
"Japan Highway Public Corp. has no capacity to prioritize construction of government orders, but we will consider it," said committee chairman Takashi Imai at a news conference following the government panel's fifth meeting.
Having been legally founded and partly funded by public outlays, plans developed by Japan Highway, Metropolitan Expressway Public Corp., Hanshin Expressway Public Corp. and the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority have been under government control.
However, the government has already decided basically to scrap its annual funding of around 300 billion yen in privatizing the various companies.
The privatization will require that current toll rates be left intact and lead to debt repayments within 50 years.
Imai said projects will be prioritized on the basis of data such as income-cost balance and redemption rates, which the panel asked Japan Highway to submit as early as possible.
The panel, established late last month, has been working on drafting a proposal for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi by the end of the year after compiling an interim report around August.