TASHKENT

Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved a state programme of social, industrial infrastructure development for 2022-2024, under which the Central Asian country’s government will invest 76.8 trillion soums (more than $7) billion.

According to the justice ministry, the state will build higher educational institutions with 54,000 seats and dormitories with more than 8,000 beds, general education, creative and specialised schools with 259,000 seats and 248 sports halls.

Also, medical facilities with more than 24,000 beds and preschool establishments with more than 88,000 seats will be constructed.

The document suspends financing of the construction and reconstruction of the administrative buildings of ministries, departments, and local administrations from the state programme of social, industrial infrastructure development for two years.

It also introduces a ban on using programme funds to cover borrowed funds raised from domestic sources, foreign loans, and interest payments accrued on them, as well as on the allocation of loans for the construction of facilities.

The document defines the infrastructure facilities to be built or reconstructed in two years, including, roads, irrigation systems, law enforcement and defence facilities.

The government commission will coordinate the activities of ministries, departments, business associations, and local governments participating in the programme.

In August 2021, Mirziyoyev tasked the government to bring infrastructure networks, including gas and electricity to projects sites of the investors, whose own funds in an enterprise should be at least 25 percent.

The decision came following the president’s video conference meeting with nearly 3,000 domestic entrepreneurs, who have raised infrastructure problems as the main obstacle to launching or expanding their business.

The resource-rich Central Asian nation of 34 million had been led by Mirziyoyev, who took over in late 2016 following the death of veteran leader Islam Karimov, who had run Uzbekistan with an iron fist for 27 years.

Since 2016, Mirziyoyev unveiled an ambitious economic reform programme, opened up the country to foreign trade and investment, scrapped monetary and other administrative burdens for business. Uzbekistan has also set up a special judicial panel for foreign investors under the country’s Supreme Court to better protect their interests and created an Anti-Corruption Committee.

Over the past five years, the number of entrepreneurs has increased by 25 percent thus leading to raised electricity consumption by 30 percent, the president said.

Mirziyoyev also prioritised reforming the country’s energy system by opening up it to foreign investors offering public-private partnership in the power sector and promised to create all necessary conditions by 2025 that private investors would be able to produce up to 50 percent of the country’s electricity.