BEIJING — China’s transport sector saw rising investment and shrinking costs in the first half, a government ministry spokesman said on July 23.

A total of 1.37 trillion yuan (about $199.68 billion) was invested in railways, highways, shipping and civil aviation in the first six months of the year, up 4.8 percent from the same period last year, said Sun Wenjian, the spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, at a press conference.

Logistics costs and other related expenses, however, shrank by about 63.37 billion yuan in the Jan-June period.

In terms of passenger transport, 8.75 billion passenger trips were completed, down 1.8 percent over the same period last year.

In terms of freight transportation, 24.58 billion tons of commercial freight were handled, up 5.9 percent. Included were 27.8 billion pieces of parcels delivered by express delivery, up 26 percent. Railway freight volume, for instance, rose 100 million tons year-on-year.

China rebuilt and renovated 135,000 kilometers of rural roads in the first half of this year, equivalent to 67.7 percent of its annual target, according to the spokesman.