(Bloomberg) -- China saw an uptick in new construction sites in May, according to satellite data, suggesting infrastructure investment is poised to accelerate from its currently sluggish pace.

The area of new construction sites in China’s three largest urban areas -- around the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou -- increased by 110% in May from the same month in 2021, according to Four Squares Technology Ltd., which analyzes satellite images. However, that increase was from a low base - the area around Guangzhou saw zero areas of new construction in May 2021.

The scale of China’s investment in infrastructure this year is one of the key factors deciding how fast the country’s economy will grow. Consumer spending has slumped due to coronavirus lockdowns since March, export growth is expected to slow, and investment into the property sector is falling due the housing market slump.

Read more: China’s Economy Shows Mixed Recovery With Consumers Under Strain

Looking at total area covered by construction projects, the increase in the three regions in May was just 1.3%, according to Four Squares, which provides alternative data products to financial institutions, such as investment banks, and hedge funds.

Road construction in 13 provinces showed a similar pattern, with an 188% increase in newly added construction area in May, while the total mileage of roads under construction in those regions increased just 3.2%, according to the Four Squares report. That was a clear improvement on April though, when the total road mileage under construction fell 8.5% from the previous year.

China is likely to see double-digit growth in infrastructure investment this year, the state-run Shanghai Securities News reported this week. However, that will require an acceleration in the rest of the year, as it only grew 6.7% during the first five months of the year, according to official data released Wednesday.  

That data showed a plunge in newly started property projects as a slump in the real-estate sector which began last year was exacerbated by lockdowns. Data on the usage of heavy machinery from the Japanese company Komatsu Ltd. suggests overall construction work fell year-on-year in May, reflecting less building in sectors such as real-estate as well as infrastructure. 

The government is making efforts to turn that trajectory around, with President Xi Jinping called for an “all out” infrastructure push in April. To achieve that, Beijing has told local governments to complete the sale of 3.65 trillion yuan ($545 billion) of “special” bonds used mainly to fund infrastructure by the end of June, and ordered state-run policy banks to provide 800 billion yuan in credit for projects.

The economic planning agency has approved 121 billion yuan worth of investment projects in May, almost 62% more than the same month last year. For the first five months of this year, there were 654 billion yuan of newly approved projects, the National Development and Reform Commission announced Thursday. That was a 215% increase on the 208 billion yuan approved in the same period in 2021.

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