(Yicai) Jan. 7 -- China's investment in the construction of water conservancy projects exceeded CNY1 trillion (USD143.1 billion) last year, exceeding the level for the fourth year in a row, ensuring the well-being of the local population while creating new jobs, according to official figures.

China spent CNY1.3 trillion on water conservation in 2025, implementing 47,563 various water projects and employing 3.2 million people, Li Guoying, minister of water resources, said at the two-day National Water Resources Work Conference that ended yesterday.

Last year's investment has significantly enhanced China's capacity for flood and drought disaster prevention as well as the ability to conserve and utilize water resources. The figure first topped CNY1 trillion in 2022, rising 44 percent from the previous year, while reaching CNY1.2 trillion in 2023 and CNY1.4 trillion in 2024.

China launched 27 major water conservancy projects last year, Li said. Among them, the Dadu River-Minjiang River Diversion Project in Sichuan province, with a total investment of CNY68 billion (USD9.7billion), a water transfer route length of 304 kilometers, and an eight-year construction period, aims to address water resource shortages in the Minjiang River Basin, a tributary of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Li added.

In addition, various levels of Chinese water resources departments achieved significant results in the areas of flood and drought disaster prevention, ecological restoration of rivers and lakes, and the development of a digital twin water conservancy system last year, Li pointed out.

China Water Exchange, the national water rights trading platform, completed 14,000 transactions in 2025, with a trading volume of 1.6 billion cubic meters, a new record high, Li said, noting that this reflects the country's achievements in exploring and innovating water-saving mechanisms.

During its 15th Five-Year Plan through 2030, China will continue to promote high-quality development in water conservancy, ensure water security objectives, further strengthen the capacity for flood and drought disaster prevention, enhance the level of water resource conservation and utilization, and reinforce the legal management of the water conservancy system, Li stressed.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev