BEIJING - China's urban fixed asset investment growth accelerated 20.6 percent year on year to 9.13 trillion yuan ($147.29 billion) in the first four months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The growth was 0.3 percentage points higher than the pace recorded in the first quarter, NBS said in an online statement.

Investment in the agricultural sector surged 32.1 percent to 177 billion yuan. Investment in industry grew 16.3 percent to 3.91 trillion yuan, while the service sector saw a 23.9-percent rise to hit 5.04 trillion yuan.

The property sector saw investment climb 21.1 percent, up 0.9 percentage points over the same period last year.

Investment in the nation's central regions witnessed rapid growth of 24.1 percent, followed by 23 percent in West China and 19.2 percent in East China.