Fixed asset investment in China's urban areas rose to 653.5 billion yuan (about 86 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months, up 23.4 percent from the same period last year, a report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

This growth rate was 0.6 percentage point slower that in 2006.

Investment in the real estate, a sector the central government has been desperately trying to rein in, grew 24.3 percent to 178.6 billion yuan, according to the report.

Investment in projects authorized by the central government increased by 21.7 percent and in local government-approved projects by 23.6 percent over the same period last year.

Among the industries, the railway sector saw a 97.2-percent increase year on year; investment in coal mining grew 2.3 percent; and petroleum and natural gas was up 3.3 percent.