BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The construction of China's major water conservation projects has been resumed amid the fight against the novel coronavirus, the Ministry of Water Resources said Monday.

As of the end of February, 80 projects in 22 provincial-level regions had resumed construction, accounting for 72.7 percent of the total, the ministry said. The construction of another 20 such projects will be resumed by the end of March.

Water conservation projects play an important role in advancing economic development and stabilizing employment, investment and expectations, the ministry said.

It urged local authorities to help more projects resume construction and ensure workers' safety at the same time.

China has a total of 110 major water conservation projects under construction.  ■