BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's top economic planner has released an early batch of major projects and the central budget investment plan for 2026, valued at about 295 billion yuan (about 42 billion U.S. dollars) to accelerate the allocation and use of various funds.

National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spokesperson Li Chao disclosed the information on Wednesday at a press conference. He stated that the NDRC has recently approved or authorized a number of major infrastructure projects spanning transportation, water conservancy, energy, and scientific research.

Key transportation projects include a new airport in Guangzhou and the Zhanjiang-Haikou cross-sea ferry and related route engineering works.

Major water conservancy projects cover the water resources allocation project in Liaoning Province and the Nanguaping Reservoir project in Lijiang, Yunnan Province.

In the energy sector, projects such as the Zhejiang ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating-current ring grid and a hydropower station in Sichuan Province have received approval.

The early-batch approvals and advance funding are intended to speed up implementation of investment plans and help ensure a smooth start to the country's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). ■