BEIJING, April 22 -- China's investment in water conservancy facilities rose 4.4 percent year on year to 193.3 billion yuan (about 27.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, official data showed on Monday.

The figure was higher than the previous records of the period, Vice Minister of Water Resources Chen Min told a press conference.

China began 9,683 new water conservancy projects in the first quarter, up 33.8 percent year on year, said Chen.

In the first quarter, water conservancy projects created about 730,000 jobs nationwide, up 3.8 percent year on year, according to the ministry.