The construction of an elderly care service system in Guizhou was approved by the State Council recently and has been named a demonstration project on the list of negotiation projects for the 2018 World Bank fiscal year loan plan.
The project received a joint loan of $350 million from the World Bank and 100 million euros ($112.5 million) from the French Development Agency (AFD) last January, which is the first time that the World Bank has provided a joint loan for construction projects in China.
The joint loan has an annual interest rate of 1.5 percent and lasts 30 years, including a five-year grace period. A team from the World Bank has already carried out 11 site inspections in Guizhou and finished the preliminary evaluation on Oct 26. The project will be carried out during the first half of 2019.
Total investments in the project reached 10.24 billion yuan ($1.47 billion), which makes it the largest one-time loan that the World Bank has ever issued to a single province in China.
Meanwhile, the AFD has promised to provide technical support for the project and enhance cooperation between France and Guizhou on elderly care.
The project will consist of a comprehensive support project with home-based care for the elderly, a care project for elderly that are disabled or suffer from dementia, the creation of a talented team for elderly care, and a cloud platform for smart elderly care.
During his visit to Guizhou from Nov 3 to 4, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, acknowledged the achievements Guizhou has made in poverty alleviation, and confirmed that the World Bank will provide full support to the elderly care system construction project.
The project will further improve the quality of elderly care in Guizhou, and promote the development of the big health industry.
According to a staff member of the Guizhou Development and Reform Commission, Guizhou will enhance communications with the World Bank, the State Council, and the Ministry of Finance of China, and seek financial support from the World Bank for rural e-commerce, big data integration, poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and other areas.
