About 924.6 billion yuan ($127.4 billion) of fund has been collected for constructing water resources management projects across the country in the first five months this year, up by 42 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

In a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office, Wu Wenqing, chief planner of the ministry, also said the investment that has been made into building water resources management projects during the period increased by 17 billion yuan to 421.3 billion yuan.

He also noted significant growth in the number of newly-launched projects.

The country saw 34,000 water resources management projects unveiled in the first five months this year, increasing by 22.5 percent, he noted. With an even more robust growth of 52 percent, the number of projects with a total investment of over 100 million yuan reached 1,340.

These projects have played an important role in stabilizing economic growth and employment, he added.

In total, almost 1.3 million people were employed in these projects, 7.2 percent more than the same period last year. And more than 1 million of them were from rural China, he said. 129.5萬人 7.2% 103.8萬人