BEIJING — China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) in highways and waterways registered steady growth in the first eight months of this year, official data showed.

Total FAI in highways and waterways reached 1.42 trillion yuan (about $199.47 billion) during the January-August period, a year-on-year growth of 3.7 percent, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said in a report on its website.

Specifically, investment in inland rivers expanded 0.6 percent to reach 36.83 billion yuan, while that of highway construction recorded the fastest growth rate of 3.8 percent to 1.35 trillion yuan during the period, the MOT said.

The FAI growth rate registered in central regions hit 14.5 percent year-on-year for the first eight months, which was much higher than that of western and eastern China.

China will expand infrastructure investment in 2019, including 800 billion yuan in railway construction and 1.8 trillion yuan in road construction and waterway projects, according to a government work report.