Over 1.9 million find jobs in water conservancy

The Ministry of Water Resources has made marked progress in increasing funding channels for water conservancy development as it looks into tapping the potential of such projects in boosting economic growth, said Vice-Minister Liu Weiping on Wednesday.

As of the end of August, the ministry has managed to raise 977.6 billon yuan ($140 billion) for water conservancy development this year, compared with 648 billion yuan in the same period last year, he said at a news conference.

The vice-minister highlighted the achievement that the ministry has made in raising funds. Funds were raised through issuing government bonds, applying for loans and attracting investment from private capitals.

Government bonds issued by local authorities, for example, contributed to about 187.7 billion yuan of the funds raised from January to August, up 143 percent from the same period last year, he said.

Liu said a total of over 1.9 million people had been employed in water conservancy development projects during the time, including more than 1.5 million rural migrant workers.

In August alone, the development created 300,000 new job opportunities, he added.