BEIJING — The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, approved 40 fixed-asset investment projects in the first half of the year.

The projects, with a combined investment value of 246.4 billion yuan (about $38.1 billion), cover areas including energy and water conservation, the commission said.

Previous data showed that China's fixed-asset investment went up 12.6 percent year-on-year in the January-June period, compared with the 15.4-percent increase in the first five months.

This year, the country plans to expand effective investment, with a central investment budget of 610 billion yuan and a special-purpose local government bond quota of 3.65 trillion yuan.