Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 December 2015 inaugurated Afghanistan’s newly-built Parliament House in Kabul.
The house was entirely built by India’s government-owned construction agency Central Public Works Department (CPWD) at an estimated cost of 90 million US dollars.
About new Afghan Parliament House
- Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh in August 2005.
- It is spread across 86 acres. With a plinth area of around 30000 square meters, it is the largest structure in Afghanistan.
- It has elements of Mughal and modern architecture with marbles used from Chesht-e-Sharif district of western Herat province.
- Apart from the Parliament Block, which is the main building, the house consists of dining halls, library and a mosque that could house 400 prayers.
- The Parliament Block has two large assembly halls to accommodate the Wolesi Jirga (the House of the People) and the Meshrano Jirga (the Upper House).
- One of the key features of the new parliament building is its dome which is said to be one of the largest among the parliaments in Asia.
- The building was constructed to withstand terror attacks. And, it was build to resist earthquakes of up to 8 on the richter scale as Afghanistan lies in the Seismic Zone V.
- A block in the Parliament House was named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.