Chinese firm prepares to hand over new US$140 million parliament to Zimbabwe
- The site at Mount Hampden, where a new city will be built outside Harare, is the latest grand project built by China in Africa
- Beijing has long used building diplomacy – either in the form of loans or gifts – to increase its influence on the continent
The site at Mount Hampden, about 18km (11 miles) northwest of the capital Harare, heralds the start of a new city.
The 650-seat building will replace the current 100-seat, colonial-era building which Zimbabwean officials consider too small for the country’s 350 legislators.
Sitting on the top of a hill, the imposing circular complex, which has been built by China’s Shanghai Construction Group, is fully paid for by Beijing.
The contractors said the facility was now ready to be handed over, 3½ years after construction started on a project that employed more than 500 Chinese technicians and 1,200 local workers.
“There is no doubt that the new parliament will become a landmark building in Zimbabwe and even in the whole of Southern Africa,” Shanghai Construction Group manager Libo Cai said on Wednesday.
