The Samarkand district will be abolished, and the territory of Samarkand will be expanded by more than 17 thousand hectares.

The Samarkand District will be abolished, and the territory of Samarkand will expand by more than 17,000 hectares.

At a meeting of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis held on August 8, the issue of changing the administrative boundaries of Samarkand and adjacent districts of the Samarkand Region was considered.

A total of 17,226.5 hectares of land is proposed to be annexed to Samarkand. The majority of this territory—13,308 hectares—will be transferred from the Samarkand District. In addition, 1,410.6 hectares from the Akdarya District, 1,242.3 hectares from the Pastdargom District, and 1,265.6 hectares from the Taylak District are planned to be incorporated into the city.

After some of the land is transferred to the city, the remaining 28,295 hectares of the Samarkand District will be incorporated into the Taylak District. The Samarkand District itself will then be abolished.

Following the border changes, Samarkand's population is expected to reach approximately 880,000.

At the same time, 6,263 hectares of agricultural land included in the new administrative configuration will retain their current status and will not be automatically reassigned for development.

During the discussion, senators expressed concern about whether the new borders would lead to the division of residential buildings, garden plots, and other real estate between different administrative territories.

Samarkand Region Governor Adiz Boboev stated that this issue was carefully studied in conjunction with local residents and relevant agencies during the preparation of the changes.

According to him, the current borders already create similar situations in practice.

"We even have a four-entrance building: two entrances are in the Samarkand District, and two are in the city of Samarkand. Because of this, it is impossible to properly register it with the cadastral authorities," he explained.

According to the governor, the border changes should, among other things, eliminate such administrative inconsistencies. The city's expansion will also require changes to the transportation system. First Deputy Minister of Transport Mamanbiy Omarov reported that a transport master plan for Samarkand, involving international consultants, has been developed, encompassing over 100 measures. Some of these are already being implemented.

According to the master plan's calculations, the city requires 458 buses. To date, over 250 buses have been delivered, serving 23 routes.

The goal is to increase Samarkand's bus fleet to 500 units, including by adding electric buses.

An additional 50 buses are planned for delivery to the city in 2026 as part of a project from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, along with 52 electric buses provided by entrepreneurs.

An additional 150 buses are expected to be delivered in 2027 under the EBRD project. After this, the city's bus fleet should reach approximately 500 vehicles.

Furthermore, the rules for operating public transportation outside the administrative boundaries of Samarkand have been changed.

"Previously, public transportation could only travel 2 km beyond the city limits. Now, by government decision, this zone has been expanded to 12 km," announced the First Deputy Minister of Transport.

This, as noted at the meeting, will allow for the organization of transportation services to areas that are closely connected to Samarkand and will eventually become part of it.

The boundary changes are also linked to the further development of tourism in Samarkand.

Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Committee Sukhrobjon Bobokalonov reported that targeted investment projects worth approximately $400 million are being developed in the territories of "Greater Samarkand."

These projects envisage the development of 35 tourism destinations and the creation of over 10,000 jobs by 2027-2028.

"Projects worth $1 billion and the creation of 20,000 jobs in tourism and related industries are planned by 2030," a committee representative stated.

At a meeting in November 2025, the President of Uzbekistan announced that 17,500 hectares were proposed for annexation to Samarkand. At that time, in addition to the aforementioned districts, lands in the Payarik district were planned to be added to the city, but these lands were not included in the final document.