File photo: VCG

China saw 373 new public-private partnership (PPP) projects registered in the first half of the year, 144 of which had been contracted, according to the country"s top economic planner on Tuesday.

Viewing from regions, the projects mainly distribute in central China"s Hunan Province, east China"s Jiangxi Province and southwest China"s Guizhou Province.

The lion"s share of the PPP projects was related to urban infrastructure, with the tally reaching 127, data from the National Development and Reform Commission showed.

Sectors including agriculture, forestry, water conservation, social development, transport and environmental protection also reported many new PPP projects in the period.

Among all the projects registered with a national monitoring platform by the end of June, private investment projects had totaled 1,677, accounting for 43 percent of all.

PPPs act as collaborative investment models between government and private companies.

Chinese authorities have been exploring funding infrastructure and public works through PPP models in recent years, aiming to reduce local government debts and provide new opportunities to private capital.