China's southernmost city of Sansha, which administers a number of South China Sea islands, will soon launch waste treatment facilities as local authorities intensify efforts to protect the local maritime environment.

The city government will soon bring into use a wastewater treatment plant and a garbage treatment plant on Yongxing Island, the Sansha government seat, its news office said in a statement on Friday, which was the third anniversary of the city's establishment.

Xiao Jie, the mayor of Sansha, said protecting the environment and the local ecology will be top priorities for the city government in the near future as it pushes forward improvements to local infrastructure.