China's fixed assets investment in water conservancy hit 362.5 billion yuan (about US$45.31 billion) during the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005), equaling the total amount spent between 1949 and 2000, deputy minister of water resources Jiao Yong said in Beijing on Tuesday.

Speaking at a conference on water resources management, Jiao said the number of newly-developed projects and the volume of money invested in water conservancy during the 2001-2005 period were the largest since New China was founded in 1949.

China has constructed several water conservancy infrastructures between 2001 and 2005, with the central government having invested 169.5 billion yuan (US$21.46 billion) to these projects, Jiao said.

The flood prevention capacities of China's major rivers have been upgraded as a result of the construction of these facilities, he said.

However, Jiao said the country's water conservation facilities are far from enough to combat major flooding. This is particularly true for the many minor rivers.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)