NANJING - East coastal Jiangsu province will spend 490 million yuan ($78 million) on environmental protection, local authorities said Wednesday.

The funds, including $36.9 million in loans from the Bank of Asia, will be mainly used on environment restoration and protection of the wetlands of the city of Yancheng, said an official with the provincial environmental protection department.

The project will start in July with a construction period of five years, said the official, and it includes landform reshaping and hydrological improvements, which will help support the wetlands ecology and restore the biodiversity near the coastal area, the official said.