China Development Bank ups loan support for water conservancy

Aerial photo taken on March 11, 2022 shows the Dateng Gorge water conservancy project in Guiping, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Cao Yiming)

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank has enhanced its financial support for the construction of water conservancy facilities since the beginning of this year.

A total of 53.4 billion yuan (about 8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of loans were issued for water conservancy construction in the first half of the year, maintaining stable growth, according to the bank.

Since May, the bank has accelerated the issuance of loans for water conservancy, as 26.4 billion yuan of loans were channeled into the area from May to June, accounting for nearly half of the total water conservancy-related loan issuance in the first six months.

As water conservancy projects are usually related to public welfare, with large investment volumes and long construction periods, the bank has set up special loans and offered supportive measures in terms of the size, term, and interest rate of these loans.

Last month, China's central bank urged financial institutions to cooperate with water resource authorities and enterprises, and expand effective investment in the construction of water conservancy infrastructure to bolster economic growth.