A Sino-German cooperative afforestation project with investment totaling 120 million yuan (US$14.45 million) has started in Tianshui City, northwest China's Gansu Province.

About half of the investment, or 7.67 million euros, are loans granted by the German government, making the project the largest of its kind using overseas funding in the province.

The project aims to plant a total of 570,000 mu (38,000 hectares) of trees mainly in rural and mountainous areas in the province in the coming five years, in a bid to increase local greenery coverage.

To date, 2,600 mu (173 hectares) of trees have been planted in five local villages on an experimental basis.

The project is also expected to help increase economic returns to local needy peasants by involving them in the ecological improvement campaign.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2004)