An area of track on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway line. [Photo by Ni Shubin/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING - China's top economic planner approved 18 large fixed asset investment projects with investment totalling 153.9 billion yuan ($22.3 billion) last month amid efforts to stabilize economic growth by boosting infrastructure investment.

It was lower than the 184 billion yuan investment approved in December but higher than the monthly average of 142 billion yuan reported for 2016.

"January's investment will go to 18 fixed-asset investment projects, including six agricultural water conservancy projects, three transport projects and two energy projects," Zhao Chenxin, spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission, said Wednesday.

China's fixed-asset investment grew 8.1 percent year on year in 2016, down from 10 percent in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Despite the slowing growth, the investment structure was improved, with more money being spent on high-tech and service sectors, and less money going into industries with high energy consumption or excessive capacity.

The latest economic data for January, including on foreign trade, consumer inflation and the producer price index, all reinforced the view that growth in the world's second-largest economy was firming up.