The mouth of Yangtze River will be dredged to a depth of 12.5 meters by next September to allow safe passage for about 30 percent more cargo ships, the project authority said Thursday morning.

China will continue to combat the illegal dredging of the Yangtze River to protect the fragile banks of the world’s third longest river, a senior official has said.

A consortium involving Royal Boskalis Westminster and Saudi group Rezayat said it would pursue a merger with the terminals division of Smit Internationale which rejected their $300 million offer.