Beijing will offer subsidies to encourage the construction of more nursing homes in order to cope with the rapidly aging population, a local official said Monday.

Li Xinjing, deputy Party secretary of the Beijing municipal bureau of civil affairs, said the city government will offer a construction subsidy of over 8,000 yuan (1,270 U.S. dollars) for each bed in new private nursing homes.

The city currently has 401 nursing homes, including 195 private ones, with a total of 70,000 beds, Li said.

Beijing had 2.35 million people over 60 at the end of 2010, accounting for 18.7 percent of the city's registered citizens. The elderly population is expected to rise to 3.2 million in 2015.

City authorities plan to increase the number of beds to 120,000 by the end of 2015, Li said.

These authorities will also increase subsidies for the daily operation of the nursing homes, Li added.