News for business and preparations for the second NPP - weekly digest

Business news and preparations for the second NPP - important events of the week

**The first toll road is opening in Uzbekistan: how much does the Urgench-Khiva highway cost?**

The first toll road completed in Uzbekistan - the Urgench-Khiva highway - is expected to be put into operation on August 25. According to the Roads Committee, the full distance for passenger cars on this new 35-kilometer highway is set at 25,000 soums. For a short distance of 28 kilometers from the Turkmenli neighborhood to Khiva, 20,000 soums will be paid.

The toll is paid through the uzsent.uz website or mobile application, without stopping at toll booths. The toll road allows drivers to cover a distance of 45-50 minutes on the free road in 15-20 minutes. There are no intersections on this road, the maximum permitted speed is 130 km/h on bends and 150 km/h elsewhere. It is prohibited to slow down, stop, and turn below 40 km/h. Pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, and mopeds, as well as vehicles with trailers, are not allowed on the highway. Trucks are allowed to drive only in the right lane of the two-lane road.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who visited Khorezm earlier this week, first traveled from Urgench to Khiva on the newly built railway, and on the way back, he used the toll road.

**New railway and airport in Khorezm**

The new railway will connect Urgench International Airport and Khiva railway station. This will allow tourists to get off at Urgench Airport and reach the ancient city of Khiva by electric train in 40 minutes. The new line will be equipped with a Chinese-made CR200J electric train. The six-car train will transport about 400 passengers to their destination at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev also got acquainted with the new terminal of the Urgench International Airport, designed for official delegations. As part of the reconstruction, the airport is being equipped to receive wide-body aircraft such as Boeing 747 and Airbus A350. This will allow for direct, non-transit long-haul flights to Khorezm from different continents of the world. We would like to remind you that the company that manages the South Korean Incheon Airport has been involved as a private partner in the $264 million project to expand and modernize the Urgench International Airport.

**Additional amenities for entrepreneurs**

The annual dialogue of the head of state with the business community on the occasion of Entrepreneurs' Day was one of the main events of the week. The President presented orders and medals to a group of active entrepreneurs and put forward solutions to many issues that have been plaguing business.

One of the important news for all entrepreneurs is related to electricity and gas payments. According to the Head of State, many entrepreneurs have noted that 100% prepayment for electricity and gas reduces working capital. Therefore, now the advance payment for enterprises connected to the ASKUE and ASKUG systems that have not violated payment discipline will be reduced to 15%.

Also, all types of fines for business entities will be reduced by an average of 2 times. The legislation introduces the rule of “warning for the first mistake,” which gives an entrepreneur who violates the rule for the first time and does not harm people's life, health or property 10 days to eliminate the deficiency. In addition, a three-year moratorium will be announced on any inspections of small businesses that are not related to harm to human health and the interests of other entrepreneurs.

In the direction of reducing bureaucracy, the requirement to obtain licenses and permits for more than 30 types of activities will soon be canceled, and the term for issuing 35 of the documents of a permitting nature will be reduced by 2-3 times. 50 percent of state services related to entrepreneurship will be transferred to the principle of "silence - consent", and applications that are not considered within the established period will automatically be considered resolved in favor of the entrepreneur.

Among the announced innovations: the introduction of a "counter-guarantee" system, where the entrepreneur bears only 25 percent of the burden of collateral, and the relaxation of currency requirements for exports.

**Second NPP project is being prepared**

Another big news announced during the visit to Khorezm is related to the construction of a second nuclear power plant.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev: "As you know, we are building a NPP in Jizzakh. Did we ever imagine that there would be a NPP in Uzbekistan? I want to tell you a secret today: we are also making major preparations for the second plant soon. Why? Investors are coming, and their first question is: "I will bring my investment, what will be the price of electricity, what will be the guarantee?" They say. Therefore, if we do not implement the strategy we have adopted for our beloved homeland [for development] until 2030, put everything in place, make electricity guaranteed, and take measures to reduce its cost, who will come and do it for us?"

No comments have been made yet on where the second NPP might be located. It is also assumed that the second NPP will be built by Rosatom: Shavkat Mirziyoyev, speaking about the Jizzakh NPP in his speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June, noted that “this is not our last project on nuclear power plants in cooperation with Russia, we will build other plants.”

**The fixed-term payment market will be regulated**

The Central Bank is establishing control over companies providing fixed-term payment services in Uzbekistan. According to the presidential decree, new requirements will be introduced for fixed-term payment service operators and companies engaged in large-scale national trade.

The new procedure for fixed-term payments does not apply to companies that sell their products on an installment basis and the vast majority of retailers. For example, construction companies and car manufacturers can still conclude direct installment payment agreements with their customers, but if intermediaries are involved, a number of requirements and restrictions will apply.

The requirements in the resolution apply to installment payment service operators - intermediaries between the seller and the buyer of a product or service for installment payments. According to it, starting from January 1, 2027, companies engaged in financing installment payment agreements concluded between the seller and the buyer will be considered “termination payment service operators” and, having entered them into the register of the Central Bank, will have to comply with prudential requirements for regulating and controlling their activities.

**Shuhrat Abdurakhmonov’s “golden fish” move**

Andijan regional governor Shuhrat Abdurakhmonov has once again played the role of the “golden fish” or “genie from a lamp” in fairy tales. At one of the concerts organized on the eve of Independence Day, he called one of the girls dancing in the audience to the stage and shouted to her, “Make a wish.” “What is your name? Mukhlisa girl, I have one question for you, answer it without thinking, are you ready? Make a wish!” – said the governor. The girl asked to send her parents to Hajj, and Abdurakhmanov promised to fulfill her wish within 10 days. The governor did not specify whether he was making this promise based on budget funds, whether he would pay from his own pocket, or whether he was asking an entrepreneur to “sponsor” it.

“Unfortunately, business centers have been built on many of the lands previously allocated for parking.”