This photo taken on August 14, 2024 shows cargo vessels navigating a waterway in Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province. (CFP)

Fixed-asset investment in Jiangsu increased by 3.7% year-on-year in the first half of this year, maintaining a steady growth trend, according to the provincial bureau of statistics.

As a key growth driver, manufacturing investment expanded by 12.6% year-on-year, 2.5 percentage points higher than the same period last year, accounting for 46.4% of the total fixed-asset investment.

Data showed 22 of the 31 major industrial categories, or 71%, reported investment growth. Additionally, the province’s infrastructure investment growth rate climbed by 7.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year to 11.2%.

Huai'an, Taizhou and Yangzhou secured the top three places in Jiangsu with their fixed-asset investment growth rates all exceeding 10%.

Huai’an led the province with a growth rate of 14.0%. During the six months, the city signed deals for 504 new industrial projects each worth over 100 million yuan, a 41.2% increase. Taizhou followed closely with a growth rate of 10.9%.

Leveraging its historical and cultural heritage, Yangzhou increased investment in tourism infrastructure and cultural projects, achieving a growth rate of 10.2%.