Beijing has started to plant water-source forests in its neighboring Hebei Province to protect two of the city's largest reservoirs, official said Wednesday.

With an investment of 150 million yuan (about 22 million US dollars), Beijing will plant 5,300 hectares of trees by the end of the year. By 2011, the forest will cover 13,000 hectares in Fengning, Luanping, Chicheng and Huailai counties in Hebei Province, said an official with Beijing Development and Reform Commission.

The forests will protect the water resource of Miyun Reservoir, the largest drinking water reserve for Beijing, and Guanting Reservoir, the second largest.

The forest coverage in the regions is expected to reach 33.4 percent from the current 30.2 percent, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry said.

Beijing will also build infrastructure for fire prevention in Hebei's nine counties and install equipment for pest control in twelve counties.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2009)