Rendering for a social welfare center that is to start construction at the end of March in Pingtan, Fujian province [Photo/ptnet.cn]

A social welfare center in Pingtan, Fujian province will start construction at the end of March and is expected to complete construction in May 2017, announced local social service department on Feb 24.

The project mainly focuses on the care and social assistance of elderly and orphans. With investment of 96 million yuan ($14.7 million), it covers an area of 50 mu (3.3 hectares) and is designed to have 500 beds.

The center will consist of a nursing home for the elderly, a children welfare association, a social assistance station, a warehouse for relief supplies and a rehabilitation center.

After completion, a special group of people including the differently abled and the senior citizens will get better services and have a more comfortable life, which is also conducive to alleviating the current aging problem, said a local official.

Elderly care is a major task for Pingtan, since the district now has over 43,000 senior citizens, accounting for 10.89 percent of its total population, informed the official.

To ensure that local elders can receive better care, authorities also inspected such local institutions and shut down illegal ones last June.

Pingtan's moves are in line with the idea of the Fujian Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, which issued a document on Feb 21 to urge the province's cities and districts to do better in elderly care services.