Beijing, Nov 19 (IANS): China's top economic planner approved 16 fixed-asset investment projects in the energy, transportation and high tech industries with total investment of about $10 billion in October, officials said.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) spokesperson Meng Wei, this project will play a significant role in supporting the country's independent development of the aviation, electricity and shipping sectors, reports Xinhua news agency.

"They included a high-efficiency, low-carbon gas turbine testing apparatus project," he said.

Fixed-asset investment is an important driver of economic growth for China, though the country is trying to shift to momentum that relies more on consumption.

Fixed-asset investment grew 7.3 per cent year-on-year in the first 10 months of this year, down from 7.5 per cent for the January-September period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.