GRE Reading Comprehension
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Source: BOOST
Although the development of new infrastructure (such public facilities as power plants, schools, and bridges) is usually determined by governmental planning, sometimes this development can be planned more flexibly and realistically by private investors who anticipate profit from the collection of user fees. Such profits can contribute to the financing of more infrastructure if demand proves great enough, whereas the reluctance of developers to invest in such projects can signal that additional infrastructure is not needed. During the economic boom of the 1980's, for example, the state of Virginia authorized private developers to build a $300 million toll road. These developers obtained the needed right-of-way from property owners, but by 1993 they still had not raised the necessary financing. The unwillingness of investors to finance this project does not negate the viability of privately financed roads; rather, it illustrates a virtue of private financing. If a road appears unlikely to attract enough future traffic to pay for the road, then it should not be built.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
- A build a case for increasing the development of new infrastructure
- B advocate an alternative to government financing of infrastructure
- C explain the failure of a privately financed venture
- D suggest the types of infrastructure most appropriate for private financing
- E argue against government restrictions on developing new infrastructure