BEIJING - China's investment in water conservancy facilities rose 2.9 percent year-on-year to 198.81 billion yuan ($27.58 billion) in the first quarter of this year, official data showed on Thursday.

China began 6,034 new water conservancy projects in the first quarter, Vice Minister of Water Resources Chen Min told a press conference.

During the period, construction related to water conservancy projects had put 28.86 billion yuan of local government special bonds into use, an increase of 37 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, 41.41 billion yuan of loans had been used in the construction of water conservancy projects, soaring 38.5 percent year-on-year.

In the first quarter, water conservancy projects created 660,000 jobs nationwide, according to the vice minister.