BEIJING, June 23 -- China's central government will spend 25 billion yuan (4.1 billion U.S. dollars) on water projects, the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday.

Part of the fund will replenish capital for 29 existing projects, with the rest to be used on 143 new projects of irrigation, diversion, water saving and cleaning up lakes and rivers, the ministry said on its website.

The country's total investment on water projects reached 488 billion yuan in 2014. Vice Minister of Water Resources Jiao Yong predicted that investment would top that figure in 2015.