China invested a historic 823.6 billion yuan (around $115 billion) in water conservancy projects in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 64.1 percent year on year, the Ministry of Water Resources told a press conference on Tuesday.

As many as 42 major water conservancy projects began construction during the first nine months, including 30 water conservancy projects promoted by the country this year, six large-scale irrigation areas and six other projects, according to Vice Minister Liu Weiping.

These projects focus on flood control, water supply, food production and ecological restoration and management, said Zhang Xiangwei, director of the ministry's planning department.

"Construction of these projects generated employment for 2.09 million people, of which 1.7 million are rural laborers," Liu said.

According to Liu, China completed the annual target of investing 800 billion yuan (around $111.7 billion) in water conservancy projects three months ahead of schedule.

Liu also said that China would continue to invest in the construction of water conservancy facilities in the fourth quarter to ensure its annual investment exceeds 1 trillion yuan.

(With input from Xinhua and cover image via CFP.)