Beijing plans to spend more than 234 million yuan (US$28.1 million) this year to reduce the effects of sandstorms and to bring them under control at the source, the municipal government said.

Under the city's sandstorm source treatment project, the city will handle and control the sources of sandstorms along three major rivers and in the two sandy areas by 2008, covering 13,333 hectares of sandy land.

The country launched a project to control sandstorm in north China region and Beijing in 2000.

As part of the project, Beijing will plant 11,333 hectares of sandy land with trees, launch 882 water-saving and water resources treatment projects and replace 2,000 local residents.

The project will address sandstorm sources in 75 counties in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia in north China. It will cost a total of 50 billion yuan (US$6.02 billion) by 2010, the city government said.

By the end of 2004, Beijing had developed forests totaling 255,000 hectares and turned 13,000 hectares of sandy lands into grasslands. In addition, water treatment had been conducted over 482.5 sq km.

The project has greatly improved Beijing's biological environment and air quality, the city government said.
 
(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)