China has seen significant jumps in the number of newly launched projects for water resources management and the investment for them in the first three months this year, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

In the first quarter, about 23,500 such projects were under construction, and the total investment for them reached 4.7 trillion yuan ($648.9 billion), said Chen Min, vice-minister of water resources in a news conference on Monday.

Of these projects, 9,863 ones are newly launched, up by 33.8 percent year on year from the same period last year, he noted. The total investment for these new projects stands at 473.3 billion yuan, 47.6 percent more compared with the same period last year.

The vice-minister also noted satisfying progress in collecting funds for water resources management investment.

The ministry managed to collect 778.7 billion yuan of funds from January to March, increasing by 93.3 percent from the same period in 2023, he stated.

He said the water resources management projects under construction have played a significant role in creating job opportunities.

About 730,000 people were employed in the first quarter, of which 577,000 are from rural areas, he said.