The new building of the parliament of Tajikistan will be built with the financing of China, the head of the Committee on Architecture and Urban Development of the Republic of Tatarstan Jamshed Ahmadzoda (جمشید احمدزاده) said at a meeting with journalists on Wednesday in Dushanbe. Construction of the parliament is expected to begin later this year and the money has been “allocated by the Chinese side”, Tajik official said, adding “The design work has begun, topographic work is being carried out, the project is being developed.” “We are given money as a non-repayable loan. Although the building will be built by a Chinese company, 80% of the workers will be Tajiks”, he stressed.

The new parliamentary complex of Tajikistan will be built on the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Mayor’s Office of Dushanbe, the Embassy of Iran and several residential buildings. This will be located on an area of 6 hectares from the intersection of Tehran Street and Rudaki Avenue (Dusti Square) to the intersection of Rudaki Avenue and Shokhtemura Street (the area of the hotel Tajikistan).

Earlier, the media reported that the new parliamentary complex in Dushanbe will be built on a grant that will provide Saudi Arabia with $200 mln. However, later the official Riyadh denied this message, saying that no agreements on the construction of a parliamentary complex with the government of Tajikistan have been concluded.

China is a vital source of investments in mainly agrarian Tajikistan, which is also strongly dependent on remittances sent home by migrant workers in Russia. For the most part, Chinese economic assistance to Tajikistan has targeted key infrastructure projects including roads and railways linking the republic’s north and south. Beijing owns some $1.2 bln of the country’s total external debt of $2.3 bln, a share equal to around a sixth of GDP.