Northern China‘s Hebei Province will invest over 25.25 billion yuan (about 4 billion US dollars) by 2020 in protecting water resources in over a dozen of its cities and counties surrounding Beijing, the local water resources department said.
The multi-billion-dollar project aims to protect water resources, increase supply and ensure drinking water safety in the Capital Economic Circle — an economic zone covering 14 of the province’s cities and counties, which Hebei plans to build around the Chinese capital, according to a statement released by the department on Tuesday.
The province launched the economic zone in late 2010, aiming for remarkable social and economic development in the region surrounding the capital.
According to the statement, 13.4 billion yuan of the investment will be used to improve the water supply, 9.36 billion yuan to protect water resources, 660 million yuan to ensure drinking water safety, 1.75 billion for water conservation efforts and 110 million yuan for water resources management.
