The newly built office complex for members of Parliament has its furniture imported from Italy, TV3 has gathered.

This comes after the House was heavily criticized for importing Chinese chairs to furnish the main chamber.

Explaining to journalists on Thursday what informed the decision to import chairs again, Majority Leader Alban Sumana Kinsford Bagbin maintained that local manufacturers could not have provided the required number of chairs.

He said more than 275 chairs were required to furnish the state-of-the-art edifice in order to suffice both members of Parliament (MPs) and technical staff.

He also adduced that the move to import the over 275 chairs is to preserve the country’s forest areas since charging local manufacturers will mean felling more trees.

The MPs are expected to start moving into the new complex from June 1.

There are 252 offices for 275 MPs to share. Therefore, some will be made to share offices, according to Mr Bagbin.