Zimbabwe's new Sh16 Billion parliament building, built for free by China, is now complete

 

As Beijing seeks to bolster its authority over Zimbabwe, Beijing has given the southern African nation a new contemporary parliament building to replace the one it now possesses, which was established during the colonial period.

The massive facility, which occupies 33,000 square metres, is made up of a four-story building that houses the National Assembly and Senate and a six-story office complex.

The two buildings are connected by three bridges in each story. The Senate chamber has 150 seats, whereas the National Assembly has 400.

Additionally, it features 15 committee rooms, conference rooms, staff offices, and a parking lot. The office building has 600 rooms for staff and members of parliament to stay in.

The new Parliament building is situated at Mt. Hampden, about 18 kilometres from Harare city centre, where the previous chambers stood and were constructed by Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) with full funding from the Chinese government as "a present to the people of Zimbabwe."

On June 29, 2022, the new Zimbabwean parliament building, which was constructed by China was completed. 

SCG finished the buildings in 42 months, which was 10 months later than expected because of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Cai Libo, SCG's project manager, predicted that the new Parliament building would become a landmark structure in Zimbabwe and possibly all of Southern Africa.

He said that the Zimbabwean government would get the building. The endeavour "significantly promotes Zimbabwean democracy while enhancing the image of the nation," he stated.

He said, "This skyscraper is an iconic building in Zimbabwe." A strong relationship between China and Zimbabwe is shown by this.

The building was supported by a donation from China Aid.

 

Zimbabwe intends to construct additional infrastructure close to the new parliament to relieve the city's congestion. It will have offices for the executive branch and the judicial branch, as well as business and residential areas.

The new Parliament building, according to Zimbabwe's minister of information, Monica Mutsvangwa, is a sign of "deep links" between Zimbabwe and China.

Mrs Mutsvangwa says that the People's Republic of China gave money to make this amazing building possible, which shows how close the two countries are.

As you are aware, the legislature will be able to fulfil its three missions, which are oversight, legislation, and representation.

Beijing built Zimbabwe's biggest stadium in 1987, and the Parliament building is China's second major infrastructure "gift" to the country.

The Confederation of African Football said that the 60,000-seat National Sports Stadium in Harare, the country's capital, wasn't well enough taken care of to host international football games.

China is also spending an estimated $1.2 billion to modernise the biggest thermal power plant in the nation. The biggest hydroelectric facility in the nation, Kariba South, underwent a $533 million renovation.

Due to its shoddy repayment history, China is the only economic powerhouse ready to give loans to Harare. Zimbabwe has an external debt of $14.4 billion and is severely dependent on it.

Zimbabwe implemented a "Look East Policy" under the reign of the late strongman Robert Mugabe when its economy suffered from Western nations' isolation and sanctions as a result of suspected human rights abuses and election fraud.

After a military revolution, President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeded Robert Mugabe in 2017.