Priority tasks for the comprehensive development of Tashkent have been identified
Uzbekistan
On December 16, a meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was held to discuss the comprehensive socioeconomic development of Tashkent, improving the urban environment, and creating decent living conditions for the population. First, the results of the work accomplished in the capital were summarized. It was noted that Tashkent has undergone significant changes in recent years.
Over the past nine years, over $20 billion in foreign direct investment has been attracted to the city's economy, and approximately 5,000 major projects have been implemented. Per capita foreign direct investment has increased from $71 in 2017 to $2,200.
Large-scale development work and the introduction of new retail, service, and entertainment facilities have given impetus to the development of the "night economy." The number of 24-hour retail and service facilities has exceeded 3,000.
One thousand modern electric buses have been delivered to Tashkent, and 168 new routes have been opened. An additional 33 kilometers of metro lines and 21 new stations have been built. Metro services have become significantly more accessible for nearly 1 million residents of the Yashnabad, Mirabad, Sergeli, Yangihayot, and Yunusabad districts.
Overall, the capital's economy has grown 2.5-fold over the past nine years and will reach $27 billion this year. Per capita income will increase from $4,400 to $8,600.
As a result, the poverty rate will decrease from 7.3 percent at the beginning of the year to 1 percent, and unemployment will fall from 4.5 to 3.5 percent. Thus, poverty and unemployment rates in Tashkent will return to their natural levels.
The capital's permanent population is growing by an average of 100,000 people annually and is projected to exceed 3.5 million by 2030. At the same time, the gross regional product is expected to reach $52 billion, and per capita income is expected to nearly double.
It was emphasized that achieving these goals requires active and systematic work by the city mayor, his deputies, and the khokims of the 12 districts, as well as a review of approaches to developing Tashkent's housing stock, transportation, energy, education, healthcare, and service infrastructure in line with the standards of modern global megacities.
In this regard, a proposal to engage specialists with management experience in large cities as advisers to the mayor was approved. It was noted that, drawing on their many years of experience, Tashkent must be consistently transformed into a center of finance, advanced technology, culture, and tourism.
The head of state noted the existence of many unresolved issues and put forward a number of new initiatives.
"First and foremost, city leaders must change their approaches to addressing environmental issues, creating high-income jobs, and quality governance, which are of particular concern to the population.
2026 will be the "Year of Accelerated Development and Income Growth" for Tashkent. A large-scale program will be launched to implement this idea," the President stated.
The capital's districts will develop along three main lines. The goal is to attract $9 billion in foreign direct investment by 2026 and $20 billion over two years.
In particular, high-tech industry and logistics will be growth areas in the Sergeli, Yangihayot, and Bektemir districts. A modern agro-logistics and warehouse complex worth $70 million and covering 120,000 square meters will be commissioned in the Sergeli district as early as next year.
Projects worth $2 billion are being implemented in the Yangi Avlod industrial zone in the Yangihayot district in the electrical engineering, textile, automotive, and food industries. The zone will be expanded by 640 hectares in the Yangihayot and Bektemir districts, enabling the launch of new environmentally friendly and high-tech projects worth a total of $3 billion.
In the Uchtepa, Chilanzar, Yakkasaray, Shaykhantakhur, and Almazar districts, priority investment areas will be services, the creative economy, design, and tourism.
In the Mirzo-Ulugbek, Yunusabad, Mirabad, and Yashnabad districts, projects worth $1 billion will be implemented in the fields of artificial intelligence, startups, fintech, finance, medicine, and education.
This year, 26 streets in the capital were converted to 24-hour operation. The addition of 1,200 retail and service outlets along these streets has generated income for 5,000 residents. The goal is to build 18 more such streets next year.
Currently, the capital requires the construction of 75 schools and the same number of kindergartens, as well as 23 sports facilities.
It has been determined that district khokims will annually use their own funds to build one facility of each type—a school, a kindergarten, and a sports facility. An additional 15 schools and kindergartens, as well as 11 sports facilities, will be built annually as part of the investment program.
Starting this year, a program to improve the quality of education has been launched in each district of Tashkent, using one school. As part of this program, 1,500 students in grades 7–11 have been selected to study IT, medicine, business, and engineering. Teachers receive monthly salaries of up to 20 million soums, depending on the students' academic performance. The goal is to expand this experience, increasing the number of such schools to 24 next year and to 33 by 2027.
As in the world's largest megacities, a unified transportation control center will be established in the capital. It will analyze traffic and pedestrian flows on every street and intersection using artificial intelligence, preventing congestion and accidents.
Next year, two checkpoints at the entrances to the city will be relocated outside the capital, and three more will be reconstructed. Parking for at least 3,500 trucks and 5,500 cars, as well as camping areas for residents, will be created there.
Most importantly, these checkpoints will be integrated with the public transportation network, allowing visitors to leave their cars outside the capital and move around Tashkent quickly and safely.
The city administration has been tasked with installing 100 smart intersections with a single traffic light control center next year, building 30,000 parking spaces in partnership with businesses, reconstructing 300 bus stops, laying 40 kilometers of pedestrian paths and 20 kilometers of bike paths, repairing 100 kilometers of roads, and constructing an overpass and tunnel in the Yunusabad and Yashnabad districts. Additionally, the city has been tasked with purchasing 200 electric buses.
Environmental issues continue to grow in importance in the capital, as in major cities around the world.
Projects have been commissioned to prepare designs and begin construction of artificial lakes and reservoirs in four zones of the city. By June 1, three shady promenades, 5 kilometers long, will be created in each district. A separate program has been launched to create one park for every ten mahallas.
By 2026, 18.5 kilometers of canal banks are planned to be reinforced, along with the creation of green zones and promenades.
Furthermore, by reinforcing a 16-kilometer stretch of the Chirchik River running through the Bektemir, Sergeli, and Yangihayot districts, an additional 800 hectares of land will be developed. This area will include the creation of a 200-hectare "green belt," 250 hectares of internal roads, promenades, pedestrian paths, and bike paths.
A master plan for the city's drainage system has been developed, and construction will begin next year. The program includes the construction of 150 kilometers of closed drainage networks, the repair of 197 kilometers of canals and sewers, and the creation of 63 kilometers of new canals to create a cooler urban microclimate.
Seventeen rainwater collection structures will be built, which are planned to be used for watering trees and green spaces.
All public utilities and emergency services in the capital will operate around the clock to prevent and quickly resolve emergencies and strengthen public safety measures.
"The capital is the political, administrative, economic, and cultural center of the state. Approaches to its management, development, and protection must be unique," the President emphasized.
In this regard, it was proposed to empower the Tashkent City Council to allocate 20 percent of excess revenues returned to the local budget for distribution among districts, as well as to allow city and district khokims, in consultation with local councils, to place available funds in deposits.
The need to adopt a law "On the Status of the Capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan," defining the legal, economic, and organizational foundations of Tashkent, was noted.
It was emphasized that the capital should become a leader in improving the efficiency of the "mahalla seven." Starting in 2026, a new system will be implemented in Tashkent: the "mahalla seven" will be fully subordinate to the city khokimiyat.
"The seven should not be concerned with producing reports, but with actually improving people's lives," stated the President.
During the meeting, reports from the capital and district khokims were heard, and a dialogue with entrepreneurs took place.
Large-scale development work and the introduction of new retail, service, and entertainment facilities have given impetus to the development of the "night economy." The number of 24-hour retail and service facilities has exceeded 3,000.
One thousand modern electric buses have been delivered to Tashkent, and 168 new routes have been opened. An additional 33 kilometers of metro lines and 21 new stations have been built. Metro services have become significantly more accessible for nearly 1 million residents of the Yashnabad, Mirabad, Sergeli, Yangihayot, and Yunusabad districts.
Overall, the capital's economy has grown 2.5-fold over the past nine years and will reach $27 billion this year. Per capita income will increase from $4,400 to $8,600.
As a result, the poverty rate will decrease from 7.3 percent at the beginning of the year to 1 percent, and unemployment will fall from 4.5 to 3.5 percent. Thus, poverty and unemployment rates in Tashkent will return to their natural levels.
The capital's permanent population is growing by an average of 100,000 people annually and is projected to exceed 3.5 million by 2030. At the same time, the gross regional product is expected to reach $52 billion, and per capita income is expected to nearly double.
It was emphasized that achieving these goals requires active and systematic work by the city mayor, his deputies, and the khokims of the 12 districts, as well as a review of approaches to developing Tashkent's housing stock, transportation, energy, education, healthcare, and service infrastructure in line with the standards of modern global megacities.
In this regard, a proposal to engage specialists with management experience in large cities as advisers to the mayor was approved. It was noted that, drawing on their many years of experience, Tashkent must be consistently transformed into a center of finance, advanced technology, culture, and tourism.
The head of state noted the existence of many unresolved issues and put forward a number of new initiatives.
"First and foremost, city leaders must change their approaches to addressing environmental issues, creating high-income jobs, and quality governance, which are of particular concern to the population.
2026 will be the "Year of Accelerated Development and Income Growth" for Tashkent. A large-scale program will be launched to implement this idea," the President stated.
The capital's districts will develop along three main lines. The goal is to attract $9 billion in foreign direct investment by 2026 and $20 billion over two years.
In particular, high-tech industry and logistics will be growth areas in the Sergeli, Yangihayot, and Bektemir districts. A modern agro-logistics and warehouse complex worth $70 million and covering 120,000 square meters will be commissioned in the Sergeli district as early as next year.
Projects worth $2 billion are being implemented in the Yangi Avlod industrial zone in the Yangihayot district in the electrical engineering, textile, automotive, and food industries. The zone will be expanded by 640 hectares in the Yangihayot and Bektemir districts, enabling the launch of new environmentally friendly and high-tech projects worth a total of $3 billion.
In the Uchtepa, Chilanzar, Yakkasaray, Shaykhantakhur, and Almazar districts, priority investment areas will be services, the creative economy, design, and tourism.
In the Mirzo-Ulugbek, Yunusabad, Mirabad, and Yashnabad districts, projects worth $1 billion will be implemented in the fields of artificial intelligence, startups, fintech, finance, medicine, and education.
This year, 26 streets in the capital were converted to 24-hour operation. The addition of 1,200 retail and service outlets along these streets has generated income for 5,000 residents. The goal is to build 18 more such streets next year.
Currently, the capital requires the construction of 75 schools and the same number of kindergartens, as well as 23 sports facilities.
It has been determined that district khokims will annually use their own funds to build one facility of each type—a school, a kindergarten, and a sports facility. An additional 15 schools and kindergartens, as well as 11 sports facilities, will be built annually as part of the investment program.
Starting this year, a program to improve the quality of education has been launched in each district of Tashkent, using one school. As part of this program, 1,500 students in grades 7–11 have been selected to study IT, medicine, business, and engineering. Teachers receive monthly salaries of up to 20 million soums, depending on the students' academic performance. The goal is to expand this experience, increasing the number of such schools to 24 next year and to 33 by 2027.
As in the world's largest megacities, a unified transportation control center will be established in the capital. It will analyze traffic and pedestrian flows on every street and intersection using artificial intelligence, preventing congestion and accidents.
Next year, two checkpoints at the entrances to the city will be relocated outside the capital, and three more will be reconstructed. Parking for at least 3,500 trucks and 5,500 cars, as well as camping areas for residents, will be created there.
Most importantly, these checkpoints will be integrated with the public transportation network, allowing visitors to leave their cars outside the capital and move around Tashkent quickly and safely.
The city administration has been tasked with installing 100 smart intersections with a single traffic light control center next year, building 30,000 parking spaces in partnership with businesses, reconstructing 300 bus stops, laying 40 kilometers of pedestrian paths and 20 kilometers of bike paths, repairing 100 kilometers of roads, and constructing an overpass and tunnel in the Yunusabad and Yashnabad districts. Additionally, the city has been tasked with purchasing 200 electric buses.
Environmental issues continue to grow in importance in the capital, as in major cities around the world.
Projects have been commissioned to prepare designs and begin construction of artificial lakes and reservoirs in four zones of the city. By June 1, three shady promenades, 5 kilometers long, will be created in each district. A separate program has been launched to create one park for every ten mahallas.
By 2026, 18.5 kilometers of canal banks are planned to be reinforced, along with the creation of green zones and promenades.
Furthermore, by reinforcing a 16-kilometer stretch of the Chirchik River running through the Bektemir, Sergeli, and Yangihayot districts, an additional 800 hectares of land will be developed. This area will include the creation of a 200-hectare "green belt," 250 hectares of internal roads, promenades, pedestrian paths, and bike paths.
A master plan for the city's drainage system has been developed, and construction will begin next year. The program includes the construction of 150 kilometers of closed drainage networks, the repair of 197 kilometers of canals and sewers, and the creation of 63 kilometers of new canals to create a cooler urban microclimate.
Seventeen rainwater collection structures will be built, which are planned to be used for watering trees and green spaces.
All public utilities and emergency services in the capital will operate around the clock to prevent and quickly resolve emergencies and strengthen public safety measures.
"The capital is the political, administrative, economic, and cultural center of the state. Approaches to its management, development, and protection must be unique," the President emphasized.
In this regard, it was proposed to empower the Tashkent City Council to allocate 20 percent of excess revenues returned to the local budget for distribution among districts, as well as to allow city and district khokims, in consultation with local councils, to place available funds in deposits.
The need to adopt a law "On the Status of the Capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan," defining the legal, economic, and organizational foundations of Tashkent, was noted.
It was emphasized that the capital should become a leader in improving the efficiency of the "mahalla seven." Starting in 2026, a new system will be implemented in Tashkent: the "mahalla seven" will be fully subordinate to the city khokimiyat.
"The seven should not be concerned with producing reports, but with actually improving people's lives," stated the President.
During the meeting, reports from the capital and district khokims were heard, and a dialogue with entrepreneurs took place.
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