Authorities have invested heavily in a protection and restoration project for nine plateau lakes in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The investment totaled 67.7 billion yuan (9.6 billion U.S. dollars), according to Wu Xuerong from the provincial reform and development commission.

The three biggest of the nine plateau lakes, the Dianchi, Erhai and Fuxian lakes, each covers more than 200 square kilometers.

The project includes pollution control, river channel governance, water diversion, ecological restoration and relocation, and resource recycling, Wu said.

The project will be completed by 2025.

Water quality at Dianchi Lake improved after 30 years of efforts

Environmental protection efforts pay off in SW China

Kunming turns one of China's most polluted lakes clear again

10-year Challenge of Dianchi Lake: The Return of “Sparking Pearl”

(Cover: South Dianchi Lake National Wetland Park. /VCG)

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