How a presidential palace in Burundi fits in with China’s plans in Africa
- The US$22 million complex is the latest in a long list of Chinese project in the continent
It took four years to build, comes fully equipped with watchtowers and is now the property of the East African nation of Burundi.
China handed over the keys to the US$22 million presidential palace in Mutimbuzi district north of Burundi’s commercial capital Bujumbura last Thursday, completing another in a long list of projects by Beijing in the continent.
The complex, which covers roughly 10,000 square metres (107,600 sq ft), was fully funded and built by China, and its handover last week was a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the two nations, according to the Chinese embassy.
“This is the first time in Burundi’s history to get such a nice infrastructure. It proves the strongest political and diplomatic relations existing between Burundi and China,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Burundian Foreign Affairs Minister Ezechiel Nibigira as saying.
Li Changlin, China’s ambassador to Burundi, was also present at the handover.
To the northeast in Ethiopia, China has built and paid for the US$200 million African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa and is helping the country launch its first satellite in September, complete with US$6 million in training and financial support for the lift-off, according to Reuters.