With a total of 45 construction projects underway, about 30,000 workers employed by Shanxi Transportation Holdings Group are having their busiest year since the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019.

The company is the leading constructor and operator of highways in Shanxi province. It reported business revenue of 9.27 billion yuan ($1.34 billion) for the first quarter of this year, increasing 6.73 percent over the same period in 2022. The transport sector is often considered one of the primary barometers of a local economy and its robust growth marks a positive sign for Shanxi's steady recovery from the three-year pandemic.

The recovery momentum is demonstrated in the latest data released by the Shanxi Bureau of Statistics. It announced on April 21 that the province's first-quarter GDP stood at 582.43 billion yuan, growing 5 percent year-on-year.

"Shanxi's economy is showing a sustainable increase in the first three months of this year, with balanced development in almost all sectors," said deputy bureau chief and spokesman Wei Yongjie.

Primary industry, with agriculture at its core, reported an added value of 17.11 billion yuan, up 3.8 percent year-on-year. Secondary industry, mainly manufacturing, registered an added value increase of 5.1 percent to 291.08 billion, while tertiary industry, represented by the service sectors, reported an added value of 274.24 billion yuan, rising 4.9 percent.

In the agricultural sector, the province announced a plan earlier this year for boosting the modernization of its farming infrastructure, including upgrading irrigation systems, improving soil conditions and promoting greenhouse farming.

The vegetable and fruit sectors are the earliest beneficiaries of the modernization move. Thanks to the extensive use of greenhouses and other facilities, the vegetable sector reported a year-on-year output increase of 4.1 percent, while the fruit sector registered a more impressive growth rate of 11.6 percent.

In the energy sector, Shanxi maintained steady growth in the supply of coal, natural gas and electricity.

Thanks to the digital transformation of its mines, Shanxi produced 335 million metric tons of coal during the first quarter, growing 8.9 percent over the same period of last year. Over the same period, it supplied 38.01 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to the rest of country, growing 16.7 percent year-on-year.

The manufacturing industry above designated scale – which means enterprises with annual sales revenue of more than 20 million yuan – reported a year-on-year increase of 13.3 percent in added value during the first quarter.

The province's 10 strategic emerging industries, including new energy vehicles and advanced manufacturing, reported combined business revenue of 380 billion yuan, showing an increasing proportion in Shanxi's economy.

Leng Xue contributed to this story.