China makes record of 1 trillion yuan investment in water conservancy

China invested over 1 trillion yuan ($143.6 billion) in water conservancy development this year, the largest investment made in a calendar year toward the effort since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Liu Weiping, vice-minister of water resources, said on Wednesday.

This year's investment is about 33 percent more than last year's, Liu noted.

By the end of November, the investment had helped directly employ almost 2.4 million people, with over 1.9 million from rural China, he added.

The vice-minister said 10 provincial regions saw their water conservancy investment surpass 50 billion yuan, including Guangdong and Yunnan provinces.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn