China will adopt its strictest measures ever to restrict the exploration of the Yangtze River, the Economic Information Daily reported Monday.

According to reliable sources, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, has been put in charge of formulating a document on how to use the Yangtze River to boost the country's economic development.

The document is expected to be released this year.

Environmental protection will be the document's biggest concern of, the source said. There will be measures to reduce discharges of pollutions, enhance sewage treatment, and intensify the supervision of hazardous materials transportation.

A blacklist will be established to prevent backward production capacity from moving up the river, enhance guidance on industry relocation, and avoid redundant construction.

There will also be measures to protect major natural reserves, drinking water sources and wetlands in the river's drainage area.

Eleven cities and provinces, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, will be directly influenced by the document.

The Yangtze River supplies 35 percent of China's total fresh water resources. It is also one of the most heavily polluted rivers in China. According to the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, 34.74 billion tons of sewage, 70 percent of which was industrial waste, was discharged into the Yangtze River in 2012, an increase of 1.56 percent from 2011.

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