Beijing, Aug 29 (IANS) The Beijing municipality will spend eight billion yuan ($1.25 billion) on planting forests in its neighbouring Hebei province to block the sand blown by wind and protect the capital's water sources, a media report said.
The funds will be spent in the coming four years.
Beijing will plant 53,333 hectares of forest in Zhangjiankou and Chendge, following a previous 135-million-yuan investment to plant 13,333 hectares of forest between 2009 and 2011 and forest conservation, China Daily reported.
The forest in Zhangjiakou and Chengde, the two prefecture level cities in China's Hebei province, plays a role as a frontline barrier in keeping sand storms away from Beijing.
It can also prevent the Gaunting and Miyun reservoirs, the two water sources for Beijing, from being filled with eroded soil.