China will improve access on sidewalks, streets and other facilities over the next five years to make daily life and travel easier for the elderly, said a five-year program on the aging population published on Thursday.

According to the program issued by the China National Committee on Aging with the approval of the State Council, all newly-built streets and homes for the elderly in urban areas should have improved access.

Plans should be made to renovate existing public places that old people use in their everyday lives -- residential areas, streets, public buildings and homes - to make them more accessible.

60 percent of senior citizens' homes must be renovated by 2010, according to the program.

The program urges local governments to make special efforts on the improved access program in large and medium-sized cities. However, no similar plan was outlined for the country's vast rural areas.

China's elderly population is expected to hit 174 million, or 12.78 percent of the entire population, by 2010, a big increase from the current figure of 143 million, the program predicted.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)