China orders further cleanup along Yangtze

WUHAN -- China's Ministry of Water Resources said on Tuesday that illegal infrastructure along the Yangtze River is being dismantled to restore order.

A year-long inspection organized by the ministry and local water authorities showed that there are 5,700 infrastructure projects along a total of 8,311 kilometers of main river shorelines.

About 2,441 of these infrastructures -- bridges, ports, docks, ferry crossing and sewerage facilities -- are considered against relevant regulations, Vice Minister Wei Shanzhong said.

The first batch of 356 facilities will be dismantled by the end of June, he said at a special symposium on the Yangtze River conservation in Wuhan, one of the largest cities in the middle reach.

The cleanup is part of the intensive environment efforts underway along the river. Last year, over 1,376 spots for solid waste were removed from near the water body, the ministry said.

A plan released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and the National Development and Reform Commission in China outlined tasks to improve Yangtze water quality by 2020.

Tasks include strengthening industrial, agricultural and shipping pollution treatment, ensuring safety of drinking water source quality and cracking down on ecological destruction.