By Xinhua

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s Parliament convened its first session Tuesday at the new China-funded parliament building in Mount Hampden on the outskirts of Harare following its official handover to the Zimbabwean government last month.

“History was made today as the Honourable Speaker’s procession made its way into the Chambers for the first time after the official handover of the new parliament building. Parliament of Zimbabwe has migrated to the new precincts in Mount Hampden,” the legislature said on X, formerly Twitter.

On Oct. 29, the parliament said that it was relocating from the old colonial-era parliament building in central Harare to the new structure located about 18 km from the capital.

The imposing edifice, sitting atop a hill, was constructed and funded by China through a grant.

“The New Parliament Building is one of the most significant collaborative projects between the People’s Republic of China and Zimbabwe in recent years,” the parliament said. “This project signals strong and deepening relations between the two sovereign nations.”

It has a combined floor space of 33,000 square meters, with a six-storey office building and a four-storey parliament building.

The building also has extra facilities for conferencing, with more than 600 rooms including 15 committee rooms and VIP offices.

Before the official handover, the building was used as the venue for the swearing-in of Zimbabwe’s tenth parliament in September and for the delivery of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa‘s State of the Nation Address in October.