LHASA - China's Tibet?autonomous region is planning to invest 30 billion yuan (about $4.8 billion) in an afforestation project to cover six major rivers in the region, a forestry official announced on Thursday.

The project will focus on lands suitable for afforestation along major rivers in Tibet, including the Yarlung Zangbo, Ngulchu, Lhasa, Nyangchu, Nyakchu and Sengye Khabap rivers, said Lei Guilong, head of Tibet's forestry department, at a meeting.

The project will start from 2014 and is expected to be completed by 2030. It will help conserve soil and water resources, as well as prevent sandstorms in these areas, Lei said.

The efforts will be funded mainly by the central government, while local forestry authorities will make use of existing funds to support the project, the second-largest in Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which went operational in 2006.