No “Senior Citizen Residences Scheme” projects in next 10 years

Hong Kong Housing Society Chairman Ling Ka-kan said that no more "Senior Citizen Residences Scheme" projects will be built in the next ten years.

Instead, the focus will be on new housing estates with enhanced elderly-friendly designs to address Hong Kong's aging population.

Twenty years ago, the Hong Kong Housing Society launched the " Senior Citizens Residences Scheme", providing a "one-stop" aging solution for middle-class seniors aged 60 or above.

Ling Ka-kan indicated that no more projects of this type will be built in the next ten years. Instead, the strategy will shift to focusing on unit design.

He said: “Relying solely on our so-called elderly housing cannot solve the housing needs of the elderly.

In our newly built residences, we should have appropriately provided these from the beginning; we call this age-friendly design.

For example, door handles and water taps are all not round, because sometimes the elderly's hands are not so smart; they are all long handles, so that they can open the door with a press and turn on the water tap with a flick.