Greening Foundations of China and Japan launched a forest project aiming at protecting coastal environment in Tianjin Municipality, the biggest port city in north China, an official of China Greening Foundation said on Tuesday.

The project is jointly launched by Japan's Greening Association and funded by Sino-Japan Greening Communication Fund (Obuchi Fund). It is China's third project of this kind financed by the Fund, the official said.

The Japanese foundation will provide 1.2 million yuan (US$176,470) and China will provide 6.8 million yuan (US$1 million) to plant 200,000 trees in an area of 200 hectares in the next three years in Tianjin, 120 kilometers away from Beijing, according to the project agreement.

A 200-meter-wide and 10 kilometer-long "green belt" will be built in the city, the official said.

Some 50,000 trees will be planted in an area of 40 hectares in the first phase of the project, the official said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2009)