BEIJING, July 23 -- China's fixed-asset investment in transport infrastructure climbed 4.8 percent in the first half of 2019 to 1.37 trillion yuan (about 199.1 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed Tuesday.

The growth accelerated from an increase of 0.7 percent registered in 2018, according to the Ministry of Transport.

A breakdown showed the country's investment in roads totaled 950.02 billion yuan during the period, up 4.8 percent from one year earlier, while that in waterway areas increased 3.3 percent to 27.96 billion yuan.

This came as the country encouraged infrastructure investment to improve weak links in the sector and boost economic growth.

The country's infrastructure investment was up 4.1 percent year on year in the first six months, with the growth picking up from 4 percent in the Jan.-May period.

Tuesday's data also showed the country's cargo freight rose 5.9 percent from one year earlier to 24.58 billion tonnes, but passenger transport volume edged down 1.8 percent year on year.