Renovation of old residential complexes on track

Shanghai government is confident that all larger, old residential complexes in the central districts that require refitting will be refurbished by the end of next year, it told the city's legislators on Sunday.

By the end of last month, about 29,000 more households have been benefited from projects, covering 86 percent of all targeted for this year.

This means that about 27,000 households in the central districts, with 7,000 in Huangpu District, are yet to have a facelift.

Meanwhile, work on refitting old residential buildings in the most needy situations has been progressing, with only 15,800 households left so far.

The government is also pushing for the partial renovation of other old residential quarters and buildings in the city. This year the project focuses on Shanghai's Five New Cities and the areas along Suzhou Creek.

A key part of the project is to install elevators in multi-story residential buildings to provide convenience for senior residents.

In the first eight months this year, residents signed contracts to have a total of 4,001 new elevators in their buildings. In the past few years, more than 1,100 elevators have been installed.

Also, the government said it will launch the final campaign in old residential complexes where people have no modern toilets and still use chamber pots.

So far, about 21,000 households which once used chamber pots now have toilets at home, with 5,000 households remaining, most of which are located in Huangpu District.