BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China's total investment in water conservancy facility construction is expected to exceed 5.4 trillion yuan (about 759.6 billion U.S. dollars) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), 1.6 times the level in the previous five-year period, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Water Resources, China invested a record high of over 1.35 trillion yuan in the construction of water conservancy facilities in 2024. This follows the sector's landmark achievement of surpassing one trillion yuan in 2022, marking a new milestone and setting record-breaking investment levels for three consecutive years.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China has commenced construction on 172 major water conservancy projects, accelerating the optimization of water infrastructure in terms of layout, structure, function, and system integration, Li said.

By the end of 2024, the country had completed 95,000 reservoirs, 200 large and medium-sized water diversion projects, 6,924 large and medium-sized irrigation districts, and 318,000 kilometers of dikes, forming the world's largest and most comprehensive water conservancy infrastructure system, which benefits the largest population.

Meanwhile, China has continuously enhanced its flood and drought disaster prevention system, successfully managing 3,981 river floods that exceeded warning levels.

The country effectively responded to severe droughts in river basins, such as the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, ensuring the safety of water supplies for residents in affected areas and meeting irrigation demands for crops.

During the 2021-2025 period, economic losses from flood and waterlogging disasters as a percentage of the gross domestic product dropped to 0.18 percent from 0.28 percent during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's water resources sector consistently adhered to the principle of prioritizing water conservation, said Vice Minister of Water Resources Chen Min at the same occasion.

With an average annual economic growth rate of 5.5 percent, the country's total water consumption remained stable with zero growth, Chen told the press conference.

Water use efficiency saw significant improvement. In 2024, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP and per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value dropped by 17.7 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively, compared with 2020 levels.

By the end of 2024, the national area under water-saving irrigation reached 638 million mu (about 42.53 million hectares), up 12.5 percent from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Li added. Meanwhile, water consumption per mu of irrigated farmland decreased by 4 percent.