TASHKENT

The World Bank has approved a $100 million concessional loan to finance a new project to improve urban infrastructure and municipal services in mid-sized cities in Uzbekistan’s southern Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya regions.

The International Development Association, which is part of the World Bank Group, will provide the loan to Uzbekistan’s government at a low interest rate, with a repayment period of 30 years.

A similar project, funded by an earlier $100 million loan from the World Bank for four mid-sized cities in the Tashkent, Bukhara and Namangan regions, was implemented over the last two years. The new funding is intended to expand the geographic scope of the ongoing project.

Cities participating in the new project in the Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions will benefit from an integrated and specifically designed programme of investments, including improved and expanded water supply and sanitation networks, upgraded electricity infrastructure, upgraded energy-efficient public buildings, reconstructed public spaces and parks and restored objects of cultural heritage.

According to the World Bank, the majority of the cities covered by the project have untapped growth potential. Many are located along strategic transport corridors, some have prominent tourist attractions and most are well-positioned to create a range of quality service jobs for the surrounding rural areas.

All investments in the project will follow the most contemporary green design principles and aim to achieve universal accessibility. About 4 million people, equivalent to about 70 percent of the combined population of both regions, are expected to benefit from the improved urban infrastructures, municipal services, and job opportunities created thanks to the project.

“Many countries have effectively used urbanization as a development engine, like in the case of China, South Korea and Thailand. To achieve this, Uzbekistan needs to catch up with the backlog of urban infrastructure and services and upgrade public spaces to make cities more attractive and productive,” Marco Mantovanelli, the World Bank country manager for Uzbekistan, said in a statement.

Experts say that more than 40 percent of the country’s urban population, about 1.5 million people, live in cities with a population of less than 100,000. They play an important role in the economic development of large cities.

To complement the investments, the project will also offer additional support to regional and municipal administrations by providing equipment and training to improve management and maintenance of urban infrastructure and assets, as well as modern environmental practices and green approaches to urban management. The latter will potentially include solid waste management, urban mobility and safe-street plans, and other critical areas of sustainable and green urban development policies.

Additionally, the project will help the government to continue to implement reforms critical to sustainable urban development, including administrative and budgetary reform that should transfer more powers and resources to local administrations, and urban planning reform that should help ensure cities grow in an orderly and sustainable manner.

Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade will continue to implement project activities in all five regions, in close coordination with local governing bodies of the participating medium-size cities and regions, as well as key line ministries and state agencies, the World Bank said.