Action plan created to improve water quality in Yangtze River

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has drawn up an action plan to improve the water quality of the Yangtze River over the next two years, it announced on Thursday.

The ministry aims to finish the overhaul of sewage outlets and eliminate nearly all water below Grade V - the lowest quality grade in China's five-tier system - near the river by 2020 under the action plan, which was released by the ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission on Monday.

Other goals include guaranteeing at least 1,000 metric tons of drinking water a day in the Yangtze River Economic Zones and suspending all large-scale construction activities that affect the river.