Society

Beijing's 17 billion yuan river rejuvenation

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-29 13:40

Beijing has started a five-year environmental protection program, with an investment of 17 billion ($2.5 billion) yuan, in a bid to rejuvenate the hydrosphere ecosystem of Yongding River, Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported Tuesday.

Beijing's "Mother River" Yongding River has remained dried up for more than 30 years due to excessive diversion of water at the Sanjiadian reservoir in Mentougou district. The plan is to build a 170-kilometer long green corridor with an area of 1,500 square kilometers, increasing 1,000 hectares in water surface area and 9,000 hectares in green areas, and 100 million cubic meters of ground water.

The plan is estimated to be completed by the end of 2014.