WUHAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Hubei, an industrial province along China's Yangtze River, on Monday announced its 2019 GDP growth target as 7.5 to 8 percent.

Wang Xiaodong, governor of Hubei, said the province's GDP growth was estimated at 7.8 percent in 2018, which was "higher than the national average and better than expected."

Wang reported the figures while delivering the annual government work report at the opening meeting of the annual session of the Hubei Provincial People's Congress.

Wang said the service industry had a 54.7-percent contribution rate to last year's economic expansion. The province also recorded a 12.8-percent increase in high-tech industry value addition, suggesting innovation is acting as a stronger impetus to the economy.

The robust growth was reported as the province continued to prioritize environmental protection of the Yangtze River by shutting down or relocating 115 chemical plants along the river in 2018, according to the report.

Wang pledged more efforts to close or relocate heavy polluters along the Yangtze, crack down on illegal ports and speed up riverside afforestation this year.

Hubei has been using its strategic location at the midstream of Yangtze, the longest and busiest waterway in China, to boost its economy in recent years.