WUHAN, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's longest river saw a record-high volume of cargo transport in 2018 as waterway construction in the region picked up steam.

About 2.69 billion tonnes of cargo passed through the trunk line of the Yangtze River, up 7.6 percent year on year and setting a new record, according to the department in charge of the river's navigation affairs with the Ministry of Transport.

The river's trunk line also processed containers of 17.50 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) last year, rising 6.1 percent compared with 2017, also a record high.

The administration sped up the construction of several sections of the Yangtze River waterway, with a total investment of 2.84 billion yuan (414.8 million U.S. dollars).

Meanwhile, the watchdog intensified its crackdown on illegal sand dredging, fishing, and other environment-damaging activities. Accidents and economic losses both fell in 2018.

China started the Yangtze River Economic Belt initiative in early 2016, aiming to turn the region into a golden economic belt featuring more beautiful ecology, smoother transport, a more coordinated economy, a better-integrated market, and more scientific mechanisms.