China's investment in water conservancy reaches record high

BEIJING - China invested a record 823.6 billion yuan ($115.88 billion) in water conservancy facilities from January to September, up 64.1 percent year-on-year, Vice-Minister of Water Resources Liu Weiping said on Tuesday.

During the first nine months, China began construction on 42 major water conservancy projects, with a combined investment of over 1.9 trillion yuan, Liu told a press conference.

The construction of water conservancy projects created 2.09 million jobs during the nine months, including 1.71 million for rural workers.

Liu said China completed the annual target of investing 800 billion yuan in water conservancy projects three months ahead of schedule.

"This is because we have made the best use of economy-stabilizing measures and follow-up policies," Liu said, adding that financial inputs from other sources like local government special bonds and private capital have also been used well.

He said China would continue to invest in the construction of water conservancy facilities in the fourth quarter to ensure its annual investment exceeds 1 trillion yuan.