The new Tashkent International Airport will initially serve 20 million passengers per year

The New Tashkent International Airport will initially serve 20 million passengers per year

The rapid growth of our country's economy, the expansion of industrial production, and foreign trade volume require the consistent development of transport infrastructure. Turning Uzbekistan into a key link of the shortest land corridor stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Europe and expanding opportunities for access to international markets are among the priority tasks in this direction.

It is planned to double the volume of transport services by 2030, attract $9.1 billion in investments to the sector, and bring the export of services to $5.7 billion. The presentation reviewed the infrastructure projects being implemented to achieve these goals, their timelines, and the issues that need to be resolved.

First, information on the construction and modernization of airports was provided.

Work is underway to build new airport complexes in Tashkent and Bukhara with a total value of nearly $3 billion. The New Tashkent International Airport is designed to serve 20 million passengers per year in the initial phase. Within the framework of the project, public-private partnership agreements have been signed, and work on preparing the territory for construction and relocating engineering networks is being carried out.

Aerodrome infrastructure is being built at the New Bukhara International Airport. An international tender is being held to attract a private partner for the construction and management of the passenger terminal.

Additionally, the progress of projects to modernize the Urgench and Namangan airports on a public-private partnership basis, and the Andijan airport with the involvement of a private operator, was reviewed. As a result, the capacity of the airports will increase, and opportunities to serve passengers based on international standards will expand.

Special attention was also paid to the development of road infrastructure.

Last month, the construction of the Tashkent–Samarkand toll road, valued at $2.2 billion, was launched. The first toll road connecting the cities of Urgench and Khiva was put into operation.

The presentation discussed issues related to financing the next stages of the Tashkent–Samarkand project, identifying investors for the Tashkent–Andijan and Tashkent–Bostanlyk toll roads, and starting practical work.

Proposals to increase the capacity of the railway network were presented.

Today, a number of railway sections on key transit routes are operating under high load. The increase in industrial cargo volumes and the launch of new high-speed train services will further intensify the demand on the existing infrastructure.

Therefore, measures to modernize the Maktaaral–Syrdarya, Angren–Pap, Tashguzar–Boysun–Kumkurgan, Tashkent–Samarkand, and Tukimachi–Angren routes were considered. It was noted that by allocating $200 million to these works, the capacity of the sections could be increased by 25-30 percent.

Information was also provided on the construction of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, the creation of a separate high-speed railway on the Tashkent–Samarkand route, and projects to expand and electrify railway networks in the regions. Proposals for renewing the freight wagon fleet and widely involving the private sector in this process were also discussed.

The issues of developing international transport corridors and expanding opportunities to access world markets through seaports were considered separately.

The ongoing work to create logistics infrastructure with the participation of Uzbekistan in the ports of Aktau, Turkmenbashi, and Baku on the Caspian Sea, and Poti and Anaklia on the Black Sea, was presented. In particular, an agreement has been signed to establish a logistics center at the port of Poti, and the project's feasibility study is being developed. Opportunities to participate in the development of the Anaklia port, as well as in the construction of the Nakhchivan railway, which serves to access the Turkish ports of Samsun and Istanbul, are being studied.

These projects will serve to diversify the routes for delivering textile, chemical, agricultural, and mining-metallurgical products to foreign markets.

It was emphasized that in order to make effective use of international corridors, it is also necessary to expand the network of logistics centers in our country.

Information was provided on the implementation of instructions to specialize the cities of Khanabad and Angren, as well as the Yangiyul, Akhangaran, Alat, and Termez districts, in transport and logistics. It is planned to implement a total of 17 logistics center and terminal projects in the city of Tashkent, and the Tashkent, Andijan, Surxondaryo, and Bukhara regions. Issues regarding their location, attracting investors, financing, and providing the necessary infrastructure were discussed.

The presentation also paid special attention to the digitalization of freight transport and reducing the shadow economy in the sector.

It was noted that the share of the unobserved economy in the freight transport sector is still over 42 percent. It was stated that one of the main problems in this regard is the lack of a unified registry of local freight transport, electronic order generation, and an electronic system integrating all transport services.

Therefore, it was proposed to create a unified digital transport system, form a registry of carriers, and introduce electronic waybills and an aggregator service that accepts orders. Measures to expand the exchange of electronic permits in international transport and establish opportunities for real-time tracking of cargo movement were also considered.

Through this, it is planned to create convenience for carriers, transition informal services into legal activities, and increase transparency in the sector.

The Head of State clearly defined the timelines, funding sources, and expected results of the presented projects, emphasizing the importance of implementing them in harmony with one other. Relevant instructions on the discussed issues were given to the officials.