BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- China's investment in new water conservancy projects totaled 414.4 billion yuan (about 61.86 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of the year, Wei Shanzhong, vice minister of water resources, told a press conference on Friday. 

China is expected to complete investments worth more than 800 billion yuan in water conservancy construction this year, Wei said. 

From January to May, the country initiated 10,644 new water conservancy projects, including 609 projects with an investment of more than 100 million yuan each, Wei said. 

These projects will be built for the purposes such as diverting water from major rivers to regions prone to water shortage, ecological restoration of rivers, flood control, irrigation, and safe water supply for rural residents. 

Aerial photo taken on March 11, 2022 shows the Dateng Gorge water conservancy project in Guiping, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. [Photo / Xinhua]

In the first five months, a total of 3,500 reservoirs with potential risks underwent reinforcement, and environmental treatment was carried out in more than 2,300 kilometers of small and medium-sized rivers, Wei added. 

China last month unveiled a package of detailed policy measures to further stabilize the economy and better coordinate epidemic control and economic development, including accelerating some approved water conservancy projects and speeding up investment in transportation infrastructure. 

(Source: Xinhua News)