How much would cleaning nine lakes cost? Around US $4 billion, top officials of Yunnan Province said.

On Thursday, local officials said they have allocated 24.6 billion Yuan, or around US $4billion, to clean the province's nine lakes and their ecological systems.

More than half of the allocation will be spent to upgrade the quality of water of the famous Dianchi Lake, officials said.

Like Us on Facebook

The sixth-largest freshwater lake in China, Dianchi Lake, has been facing deteriorating water quality for the past 20 years and cleaning it has been a major challenge for the provincial government.

According to Yunnan's Executive Vice Governor Li Jiang, the lakes cleanup will include water diversion, restoration, anti-pollution measures, among other processes.

Li said cleaning the lakes is very important because the water of the lakes could improve the lives of people living near them.

Another popular lake, which will be included in the US$4billion cleanup, is the Erhai Lake in Dali Bai. The Erhai Lake was earlier tested and found to contain cyanobacteria, a type of algae toxin. The lake has an area of 340 square kilometers.

The lakes in Yunnan are considered tourists spots, attracting millions of tourists last year because of their grandeur and natural beauty. However, with industries and houses throwing their wastes into the lakes, the water quality of the lakes has become a problem for the local government.

As tourists come to visit the lakes every year, hotels and restaurants have been established in the area, with some of the establishments throwing their waste directly into the water.

Authorities, however, said they will be implementing stricter rules on the disposal of wastes.

Li, meanwhile, hopes that the US $4billion allocation will help restore and maintain the natural beauty of the lakes and improve not just the quality of water, but also the ecological systems within the lakes.