Government promotes incentives for investment in housing for seniors

In light of a scarcity of housing and services for seniors and the nation's rapidly aging population, the government is rolling out preferential measures to encourage the private sector to build communities for the elderly.

"Our society is aging at a rapid pace. We need to help old people resolve their housing problems," said Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Join-sane (林中森) at a seminar held yesterday in Taipei to promote the government's policies.

The nation officially became an aging society in 1993, when those aged 65 and above accounted for 7 percent of the nation's overall population, according to UN standards.

The figure has been climbing quickly due to advanced medical treatment and an increasing number of late marriages.

According to the Council for Economic Planning and Development, it will only take about 26 years for Taiwan to double this number to 14 percent. This is a much faster rate than in other countries. The UK, for example, expects its elderly population to double in 45 years, the US in 70 years and Sweden in 85 years, Lin said.

"In 2027, more than 20 percent [of the population] will be elderly. But currently there are only a handful of privately operated senior citizens' communities, which underlines the urgent need to establish these facilities," he said.

To attract private sector investments, the government promulgated a set of guidelines regarding the management of senior citizens' communities on Jan. 1. It also offered incentives, including tax reductions, government assistance to acquire land and low-interest loans.

The value of building senior citizens' communities is estimated to reach a value of NT$300 billion a year, in addition to the creation of new jobs and related industrial development, according to Lin.

As of Aug. 23, a total of 26 investors had applied for the projects, with the total investment volume topping NT$20 billion, Lin said.

Long before the government implemented its promotion, Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) began construction of its first senior citizens' community, the Changgung Health and Culture Village (長庚養生文化村), in Taipei County's Linko Township.

Formosa Plastics has poured NT$10 billion into the 34-hectare site to build a community that will be able to accommodate 3,600 households.

The first phase, encompassing 706 households, will open to the public in December, while the whole village will be completed by the end of 2006, said Lin Chih-lang (林志郎), who is in charge of the village's expansion project.