BEIJING — A total of 510.5 billion yuan (about $73.52 billion) of China's special treasury bonds for COVID-19 control had been put to use by July 29, said the country's finance minister.

Proceeds from the bonds funded 24,199 projects, most of which related to infrastructure construction and COVID-19 control, Liu Kun, the minister of finance, told Xinhua in an interview.

By the end of July, China had completed the planned issuance of the 1-trillion-yuan special treasury bonds for COVID-19 control, Liu added.

So far, funds raised had been funneled to prefecture and county governments after the provincial-level governments retained part of the money based on regulations, Liu said, adding that the ministry has put in place a mechanism to monitor the distribution, allocation and use of funds.

The country pledged in May to increase its deficit by 1 trillion yuan over last year and issue 1 trillion yuan of government bonds for COVID-19 control, as part of efforts to prop up its virus-hit economy.