Water conservancy investment rises

China has made marked progress as it endeavors to tap the potential of water conservancy investment in maintaining stable growth and boosting employment, Vice-Minister of Water Resources Wei Shanzhong said.

"Between January and May, the construction of water conservancy projects has been generally accelerated, with marked results," he told a news conference on Friday.

Thanks to the efforts, 606.1 billion yuan has been collected for investment in water conservancy projects in the first five months this year, a figure 34.5 percent higher than the same period last year, he added. 

Of that amount, almost 310.8 billion yuan ($46.5 billion) has already been invested, up by 54 percent on the same period last year. 

More than 1 million people are employed by the projects, he said, 770,000 of whom are migrant rural workers. 

This positive progress is due to the ministry's consistent efforts to broaden financing channels, he noted.

Aside from endeavoring to get more government funding, Wei said the ministry has also issued guidelines to local governments on ways to get more loans from banks and attract more private investment.