SHANGHAI, Jul 24 (SMM) – China's transport sector saw rising investment in the first half of the year, a government ministry spokesman said on Tuesday July 23.

About 1.37 trillion yuan was invested in railways, highways, shipping and civil aviation in the first six months of the year, up 4.8% from the same period last year, said Sun Wenjian, the spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, at a press conference.

China renovated 135,000 kilometers of rural roads in January-June, equivalent to 67.7% of its annual target of 200,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, cargo freight rose 5.9% year on year to 24.58 billion mt, but passenger transport volume edged down 1.8% to 8.75 billion passenger trips.