Builders have broken ground on Zimbabwe’s new parliament building, 18 km outside the country’s capital.

According to Construction Review Online, the circular layout will span 33 000 m²  – accommodating 650 lawmakers. The current building houses just 200 people. The outer perimeter of the new parliament will house offices, while the inner core will comprise the main floor.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who laid the foundation stone at the ground-breaking ceremony, noted that other facilities such as banks and hotels would be built around the new parliament at a later stage, adding that a ‘modern, smart city’ was also planned.

The project is being funded by a grant from the Chinese government. Construction is estimated to take 32 months.

11 December 2018
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