For years, Zimbabwean legislators have had to contend with sitting in a cramped parliamentary building, often complaining that the space is small and suffocating. The Zimbabwe parliament building is a 1920s-era former hotel from colonial times, which has been expanded several times over the years to accommodate the growing number of parliamentarians.

The seating capacity of the building accommodates 150; however the number of parliamentarians has grown to 370.

"It's a catch-22 situation, the building has just become [too] small," said clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda.

In addition, the government is paying $17,000 per sitting of parliament to cater for traveling parliamentarians' food and accommodation bills.

"Over the years, the government has had to cope with booking members of parliament (MPs) into local hotels. It is expensive, but it has to be done," said Chokuda.

Now, thanks to China's involvement in the construction of a new parliament building, accommodation and space problems for MPs will be a thing of the past about three years down the line.

China's assistance

The new building, which is to be located on farmland west of the capital Harare, in the area of Mount Hampden, will have a total floor area of 33,000 square meters. Construction is expected to take about 32 months to complete and was officially launched when Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa broke first ground on November 30 last year.

Zhao Baogang, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, said the new building is the largest single project carried out by China in Africa for some time.

"The new Zimbabwean parliament building is the largest project in recent years aided by the Chinese Government in a single country in Africa," he said, adding that the building will include a six-story office block, two congress halls and other facilities.

The $98.97-million project will be spearheaded by the Shanghai Construction Group.

"For 10 consecutive years, it has been listed as one of the top 30 Chinese construction enterprises in China," said Zhao, who believes the new building will advance parliamentary work in Zimbabwe.

"I strongly believe that upon completion, it will help greatly enhance the working condition of the Zimbabwe Parliament. The honorable MPs will work harder for legislation and make great contributions to the institutional building of this great country," said Zhao.

In addition, Zhao said the new parliamentary building will further strengthen ties between the two countries.

"The construction of the new parliament building represents the deep traditional friendship between the two countries. The traditional friendship can be traced back to the days of the liberation struggle and has [now] been lifted to new heights," he said.

New parliament, new city

The new building also marks the start of the construction of a new city where recreational areas, banking halls, a residential area, state-of-the-art shopping centers, hotels and government buildings will be built.

"Within a few years, a new Harare will take shape. It will attract more visitors and investors into this country," said Zhao.

Urban town planning expert Percy Toriro said the construction of the new parliament building and the subsequent construction of a new city will help decongest Harare.

"Harare has developed organically since it was planned, and many things were not anticipated, especially in terms of population growth.

"Therefore, the new city presents an opportunity for sustainable planning, which accommodates all factors, such as population growth, that were overlooked when Harare was developed. [The new location of] Mount Hampden [20 km outside Harare] will give planners a chance to re-plan," he said.

Toriro said that obviously, it will be costly due to expenses for setting up infrastructure, but land sales by developers will largely offset the cost. During the commission of the project in November last year, President Mnangagwa thanked the Chinese Government for its continued support to the country. Mnangagwa said that China had provided a "grant, not a loan, to build a new parliament."

"Other facilities like banks and hotels will be built around this place," Mnangagwa said, adding that a "modern, smart city" was planned.

"We would like to thank the Chinese Government for their continued support of our various development programs. We commend the Belt and Road Initiative under which infrastructure development projects such as this one are being undertaken in emerging markets," said Mnangagwa. "The relocation of parliament to Mount Hampden will be a catalyst for subsequent developments throughout this area," he said.

Legislators who spoke to ChinAfrica said they were thrilled at the prospect of being the first group of parliamentarians to use the projected new building.

"As legislators, we need to concentrate on lawmaking without worrying about our welfare. The old parliament building is too small, but [judging] from the design, the new building will be modern and huge. We will be honored if the construction is completed during our term in office," said Earthrage Kureva, a legislator.

Political analyst Pardon Taodzera said China's continued involvement in Zimbabwe's infrastructure development shows strong relations between China and Zimbabwe.

"For years China has continued to support Zimbabwe even when the Western countries decided to impose sanctions," he said.

Infrastructure focus

China has provided funding for various infrastructure programs in the country, including the ongoing expansion of the Hwange Thermal Power Station and the expansion and modernization of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Early last year, Mnangagwa switched on the $533-million Kariba South Power Station Extension Project undertaken by China's SINOHYDRO Corp.

In 2016, the government commissioned the $153-million Victoria Falls International Airport built by China Jiangsu International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group.

Zhao said China released $1.2 billion to Zimbabwe during Mnangagwa's official visit to China last year.

"During the visit, to show our goodwill toward President Mnangagwa, with guidance from Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Government decided to make special arrangements to release a more than $1.2 billion loan to finance projects such as Robert Mugabe International Airport, Hwange 7 and 8 Power Station expansion and the NetOne Phase III," he said.

However, Zimbabwe is not the first country in Africa which has seen its parliament building being funded by China. In June of 2007, the Chinese Government agreed to fund the construction of a new parliament building in Maseru, capital of Lesotho. The $51.44 million contract was given to Shandong Yantai Construction Co.

(Reporting from Zimbabwe)

(Comments to niyanshuo@chinafrica.com)