Investment in water projects hits record

China has invested an unprecedented 1.1 trillion yuan ($143.6 billion) in management of water resources in the first 11 months of the year, as it strives to tap the potential of such investments in boosting its economic growth.

This has made 2022 the calendar year with the largest such investment since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, said Liu Weiping, vice-minister of water resources, at a news conference on Wednesday.

An investment of about 802 billion yuan was made in 2021, which was 4.2 percent more than the year before, according to the ministry.

With support from other government bodies, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Forest and Grassland Administration, the ministry has accelerated the process of examining and approving water management projects, the vice-minister said.

About 25,000 new water management projects commenced between January and November, compared with 21,233 such projects throughout 2021, Liu said.

The investment made in management of water resources "has fully played its role in helping ensure stable domestic investment and in promoting employment", he said. "It has also greatly driven the development of relevant upstream and downstream industries."

Liu said, as of the end of November, almost 2.4 million people are directly employed in the projects and over 1.9 million of them are from rural China.

He highlighted "significant breakthroughs" in the ministry's efforts to raise funds through government bonds, bank loans and private capital.

As of the end of November, authorities across the country managed to collect over 1.1 trillion yuan for water management projects, he said. Around 319.6 billion yuan was raised through loans and private capital, which is roughly 77 percent more than their total contribution in 2021.

Yang Xinyu, head of the ministry's finance department, said the ministry has joined in-depth research work being conducted by financial institutions to introduce concessional loans for the projects.

"Financial institutions concerned have offered water management projects the largest concession that can be enjoyed in the infrastructure development sector," he said.

Zhang Xiangwei, head of the ministry's planning department, said flood control, water diversion, ecological remediation and hydrological monitoring are among the top concerns this year.

About 213.2 billion yuan, for instance, has been invested in ecological restoration and conservation of rivers and lakes, he said. A series of projects has been launched to enhance conservation of soil and water, and stem exploitation of groundwater.