New Parliament set for Mt Hampden

said the Mt Hampden Kopje site came out the best compared to Oldberry Farm, Merryvale Farm, Muguti Farm and Nyabira Rural Service Centre.
In an interview on Tuesday, Cde Chombo said the new Parliament Building on a 240-hectare plot, would be the beginning of another satellite town for Harare.
Villas, flats, a hotel, a restaurant and a nine-hole golf course would surround it. Minister Chombo said Parliament needed more land for future projects.

“Originally, Harare Kopje area was recommended and identified as the appropriate site, but it is a plan we had more than 10 years ago,” he said.
“At that time, the Senate was introduced and the number of parliamentarians increased to 210. It was recommended that a new Parliament be built and two months ago the President put up a six-member committee with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Management and the Ministry of

National Housing and Social Amenities, among others, to choose the ideal location.”
“On the Harare Kopje, we identified that it is the most congested area, close to obstructions, close to heavily built areas which provide little room for expansion,” said Minister Chombo.

The new Parliament complex will be conceived in an integrated way with restaurants and modern-day structures placed in close proximity. Minister Chombo said the complex would have houses for the Speaker of the House of Assembly and the Deputy and for the Senate President and the Vice-President. “There would be recreational areas, banking malls, shops for artworks and Internet facilities for the legislators and boulevards will develop towards it,” he said.

Minister Chombo said the new Parliament complex would stand out as the legacy of President Mugabe and Zimbabwe. He said the total cost of the new building will be arrived at in due course. The new site is the original site where colonisers wanted to hoist the Union Jack and establish Harare.
“They got lost after returning to South Africa where they wanted to consult their masters prompting them to hoist the Union Jack on Harare Kopje,” said Minister Chombo.

Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche said in the event that the site was approved, Government would ensure that state-of-the-art roads were constructed to ensure accessibility.