Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus of São Tomé e Príncipe and Chinese Ambassador to São Tomé e Príncipe Wang Wei have jointly laid the cornerstone of a public housing complex being built on the island of São Tomé by a Chinese contractor, STP-Press reports.

The São Toméan state-run news agency says the contactor will put up five three-storey buildings, together containing 60 dwellings, in the Lobata and Cantagalo districts of the island.

The report quotes Mr Bom Jesus as saying he hopes São Toméans involved in the construction project will learn from their Chinese counterparts, and vice-versa.

Separately, the São Toméan news website Jornal Tropical reports that Anhui Sijian Holding Group Co. Ltd of China has the US$4 million contract to build the housing, and will take a year to finish the work.

In due course more public housing containing another 140 homes will be built, Jornal Tropical says.