China's water conservancy investment up in Q1

BEIJING - China's investment in water conservancy facilities rose 4.4 percent year-on-year to 193.3 billion yuan ($27.2 billion) in the first quarter of this year, official data showed on Monday.

The figure was higher than the previous records of the period, vice-minister of water resources Chen Min told a press conference.

China began 9,683 new water conservancy projects in the first quarter, up 33.8 percent year-on-year, said Chen.

In the first quarter, water conservancy projects created about 730,000 jobs nationwide, up 3.8 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry.