A special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe last week to present three designs for a new $145m legislature China
has offered to donate to Zimbabwe.
Plans, in the works for the past two years, were accelerated on the orders of President Xi after his visit to Harare in December, during which 10 large business deals were signed.
According to local media, the parliament will be built at Mount Hampden, about 17km outside the centre of Harare. As well as the assembly, there will parks, an affluent residential area, shopping centres, hotels and government buildings.
China’s 10 economic agreements include expansion of Zimbabwe’s largest thermal power plant.
Other deals awaiting financing include a high-speed railway between Harare and Bulawayo, to be built by China Railway for $1.2bn; the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Supply Project, which requires a $1.2bn loan; and the $1.3bn expansion of the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway.
In return for this investment, China will gain access to Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth. During Xi’s visit, President Mugabe said: “The task we have at hand is to convert our natural resources into wealth for our people. The other key areas include roads, rail and infrastructure development.”
Zimbabwe has extensive deposits of platinum, diamonds, gold, chrome, nickel and coal. Altogether, its mineral resources have been estimated to be worth $15 trillion.
