BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's poverty-stricken regions have ramped up efforts to start housing construction and relocate poor people to more prosperous areas, according to the country's top economic planner.

Local authorities in 22 provinces and autonomous regions have spent 58 billion yuan (8.8 billion U.S. dollars) on relocation projects, with construction started on over 10,000 of them, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) revealed.

China plans to relocate 2.49 million poor people in 2016. So far, 718 projects have been completed and 226,000 people have moved, the NDRC said.

Despite decades of growth, there were still 70 million people living below the poverty line last year, many in harsh conditions without roads, water or power.

Eliminating rural poverty is the most difficult challenge in building a "moderately prosperous society," and the government aims to complete the task by 2020.