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(Yicai Global) Sept. 22 -- China's central province of Hubei, located on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, has set up a number of projects worth CNY1.14 trillion (USD172.8 billion) to protect the region's ecosystem and push green development of the river's economic belt, Hubei Environmental Protection Action Group said.
Hubei is the first province in the country to introduce an overall plan to protect the Yangtze River. It has developed five special programs and set up projects to promote water pollution control and the eco-friendly protection and utilization of water resources, state-owned news agency Xinhua reported on Sept. 21.
The province has also run a financing partnership with state policy bank China Development Bank to push the projects and has set up an environmental protection task force to accelerate the restoration of the ecosystem around the river, said Zhu Hui, deputy secretary-general of the provincial government office.
It has also banned construction of new heavy chemical plants within one kilometer of the year and will not approve any projects that pollute heavily.