Chongqing and Elderly Care Public Private Partnership Technical Assistance, PRC

The problem

The population of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is aging rapidly. Approximately 17 percent of people are above the age of 60, a number which is expected to rise to 34 percent by 2050.

In Yichang City, where 23 percent of the population was above the age of 60 in 2018, 90 percent of the elderly live in buildings without an elevator. The community needs more adequate elderly care facilities and services. The ADB identified PPP projects that could respond to this demand but was not certain how private sector participation could best be used in the elderly care sector.

How we helped

We analysed key issues in the elderly care sector in Yichang City and recommended ways to address them with private sector participation. We assessed three PPP project concepts that aimed to respond to the city’s specific challenges and developed a workplan and the tools for decision makers to assess future projects against actual needs.

Impact

Our recommendations were received by the ADB who is currently procuring a three-tiered elderly care system in Yichang Municipality to improve the coverage and utilization of home-based, community-based, and residential-based elderly care services. The project, with a total cost of US$128.4 million, is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 and the PPP contracts are expected to operate for 25 years.