China's fixed-asset investment in the transport sector expanded to nearly 2.2 trillion yuan (about 339.22 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of the year, official data showed.

The figure was up by 3.2 percent from a year ago in the same period, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Specifically, the investment in highway construction amounted to 1.6 trillion yuan, up 6 percent year on year in the January-August period, while that in the waterway sector soared 18.4 percent year on year to 91.4 billion yuan during the period.

In August alone, the country's fixed-asset investment in the transport sector reached 304.9 billion yuan, down 7.6 percent year on year, the data showed.