21st Century Business Herald:

Investment in water conservancy construction has exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the past two years. What is the situation regarding water conservancy investment this year? And what measures will be taken to maintain the scale of water conservancy investment and raise funds in the sector? Thank you.

Chen Min:

This is a very good question, and one that has attracted considerable public attention. I would like to invite Mr. Wu to answer.

Wu Wenqing:

Thank you for your interest in water conservancy construction. In the past two years, water conservancy investment has been continuously strengthened. In 2023, investment in water conservancy construction reached 1.1996 trillion yuan, setting a new record, and having surpassed the 1-trillion-yuan mark for the first time in 2022. Since the beginning of this year, the national water conservancy system has focused on post-disaster reconstruction and made every effort to promote the construction of water conservancy infrastructure. From January to May, both construction investment and project implementation exceeded the levels of the same period last year.

In terms of investment implementation, a total of 924.6 billion yuan has been invested in water conservancy construction nationwide, an increase of 274.3 billion yuan and up by 42% year on year. A total of 26 provinces have invested more than 10 billion yuan each, among which Hebei, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hubei, Beijing, Anhui and Henan have each invested more than 40 billion yuan, strongly guaranteeing the demand for large-scale water conservancy construction funds.

In terms of investment completion, a total of 421.3 billion yuan has been invested in water conservancy construction nationwide, an increase of 17 billion yuan and up by 4.2% year on year. Among these, Guangdong and Hebei have each invested more than 30 billion yuan, and Zhejiang, Shandong, Fujian, Sichuan, Anhui and 11 other provinces have each invested more than 10 billion yuan. Funds for water conservancy projects from the additional issuance of national bonds have reached 147.6 billion yuan. The construction of water conservancy projects has created 1.295 million jobs, up by 7.2% year on year, among which 1.038 million rural laborers have been employed, up by 16% year on year, effectively playing a crucial role in stabilizing growth and employment.

In terms of project implementation, 34,000 water conservancy projects have been implemented nationwide, up by 22.5% year on year. Among these, 1,340 new water conservancy projects with a total investment of over 100 million yuan have started construction, up by 52% year on year.

This year, the tasks for water conservancy construction are serious and the demand for investment is large. Next, the MWR will guide local departments and project entities to adhere to a two-pronged approach. This means that while making good use of the additional issuance of national bonds, we will continue to strive for special local government bonds, bank loans and social capital investments. On the basis of ensuring quality and safety, we will accelerate project construction, create more tangible work output, further strengthen the foundation of water security, and make contributions to consolidating and enhancing the trend of economic recovery and improvement.