BEIJING, April 22 -- The China Development Bank said on Tuesday that it has issued loans totaling 369.1 billion yuan (about 51 billion U.S. dollars) for infrastructure development in the first quarter of the year.

Infrastructure-related lending accounted for a growing share of the bank's total outstanding loans, which the bank noted is part of its heightened efforts to bolster key national projects.

In the first quarter, the funds were channeled into key infrastructure sectors such as transportation, energy, water conservation, smart cities and smart logistics, aiming to foster integrated development between conventional infrastructure and new types of infrastructure.

The bank said it has also strengthened lending support for information infrastructure, including the next-generation supercomputing, cloud computing, artificial intelligence platforms, and innovation-oriented facilities such as national laboratories and scientific installations.

Pledging to deepen its focus on infrastructure financing, the bank said it will align with China's broader financial priorities and continue to refine its services and financial products for infrastructure projects.