China began construction of 27 major water projects during the first 10 months of this year, aiming to increase the country's water storage and irrigation capability.

Total investment reached nearly 115 billion yuan ($18 billion). When completed, they will create increased water storage of 930 million cubic meters. An area of about 5,600 square kilometers is able to be covered by reliable irrigation generated from the projects.

Jiang An'an, deputy director at the planning department of the Water Resources Ministry, said the annual water supply from the projects could reach 7.2 billion cubic meters.

Twenty-one of the projects are located in or built for the midwest of the country and will promote economic growth of the region, he added.

In addition, 84 water saving projects also started construction with an investment of 800 billion yuan, according to Jiang.