The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, announced Thursday that it had allocated 18.9 billion yuan (about 2.74 billion U.S. dollars) in relocation funds as part of its poverty reduction drive.

It was the first batch of such funds to be earmarked by the central government this year. The money will go toward accommodation projects for 2.43 million people who will be relocated from under developed regions to more developed areas, said the NDRC.

The NDRC urged efforts to guarantee the efficient use of the funds.

China has vowed to lift all of its poor out of poverty by 2020, and alleviating poverty through relocation is one part of the strategy.

Last year alone, 2.49 million people living in poverty were relocated, meeting the target for the year.

Governments at all levels rolled out relocation projects spanning housing and infrastructure when exploring supportive industries for the relocated people.

According to a government work report delivered at the annual parliamentary session earlier this month, China aims to reduce the number of rural residents living in poverty by more than 10 million in 2017, including 3.4 million to be relocated from inhospitable areas.