BEIJING — China's waterway cargo transport continued steady expansion in the first eight months of the year, with the total freight volume up 4.9 percent year-on-year, official data shows.

More than 5.57 billion tons of cargo were transported through waterways in the country during the period, according to the Ministry of Transport.

In August alone, China's waterways handled 731.69 million tons of cargo, said the ministry.

In the Jan-Aug period, Central China's Hubei province led the expansion among provincial-level regions, reporting a year-on-year growth of 24.3 percent, which was followed by Northeast China's Liaoning province and South China's Hainan province, the data also shows.