URUMQI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China will invest more in social welfare projects in 2015 to improve the lives of the people there, authorities said Wednesday.

The government will allocate more than 72 billion yuan (about 12 billion U.S. dollars) this year to help steer 100 projects -- in areas such as housing, employment, agriculture and environment improvement, said Huang Wei, vice chairman of Xinjiang, on Wednesday.

Huang said priority would be given to the region's 9,611 villages. Each village will be allocated 500,000 yuan to finance transportation, utilities supply, environmental protection and agriculture projects.

He added that the government would continue to build new houses, create job opportunities and bolster the economy at the village level.

Meanwhile, 12 rural projects will be kicked off this year, including the establishment of homes for the disabled and the elderly, as well as educational campaigns, Huang said.

Since 2010, when the regional government initiated such annual livelihood projects, Xinjiang has channeled more than 500 billion yuan to social projects.