China's investment in new infrastructure such as 5G networks and data centers may reach 17.5 trillion yuan (about 2.47 trillion U.S. dollars) for the 2020-2025 period as local regions ramp up spending in the sector, Shanghai Securities News reported Thursday.

The data marked an annualized growth rate of around 21.6 percent, according to Xu Xianping, a professor at Guanghua School of Management with Peking University and also former deputy head of the country's top economic planner, as cited in the report.

Since authorities unveiled guidelines to increase spending on new infrastructure construction, more than 20 provincial-level regions have mapped out plans in the sector, with the city of Shanghai eyeing to invest about 270 billion yuan in the coming three years.

A research note by Haitong Securities predicted new infrastructure spending would reach 3 trillion yuan this year.

Different from traditional infrastructure such as railways, roads and airports, new infrastructure refers to digital facilities such as 5G base stations, vehicle charging stations, big data centers, artificial intelligence and industrial internet, fields that are seen as future drivers of the economy.

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, authorities have called for further efforts to boost development of the sector to combat downward pressure on the economy.