BEIJING -?China will push forward water conservation projects over the next five years to boost investment and stabilize growth, the water resources minister told Xinhua.

Twenty major water projects are scheduled to start in 2016, and a total of 172 key water projects will be pushed forward in the coming five years, according to Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei.

In addition to saving water, these projects will boost employment, improve rural incomes, support local industry and stabilize economic growth, said Chen.

The minister said that the new projects should welcome private investment and water must be made more affordable to farmers.

Some 238 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) was spent on water conservancy projects in poor areas from 2011 to 2015, data from the ministry showed

From 2011 to 2015, safe drinking water was provided to 247 million rural residents and 34.37 million students and teachers in the countryside.

China is plagued by uneven distribution of water resources, floods and droughts, and lags behind the global average for water resources per capita.