Uzbekistan - The Times Of Central Asia

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Air Pollution in Tashkent Reaches “Very Harmful” Level

The level of air pollution in Tashkent rose to “very harmful,” with an increase in the concentration of toxic substances in the atmosphere. According to the latest information from the international service IQAir, at 18:00 on January 3rd, Tashkent recorded an air quality index of 223, placing the capital second in the world in terms of cities with the highest levels of air pollution, between Delhi (273), and above Dhaka (220). According to data from this time, the concentration of particulate matter PM2.5 reached 173 μg/m3. Air quality in the city was rated as "very unhealthy." The highest level of pollution was recorded in the Yunusabad district of the capital. The situation is fluctuating wildly, however, and by 18:00 local time on the evening of January 4th, Tashkent had dropped to number 37 on the rankings, with an air quality index of 67.

Uzbekistan Environment Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Features Business & Economy Uzbekistan Business & Economy Features

Uzbekistan Plans to Attract Investment, Green Energy Development

On January 2nd, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a government meeting on attracting investments and developing green energy in 2024, at which it was stated that last year Uzbekistan attracted more than $22 billion in foreign investment, a 1.8-fold increase on the previous year. Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of increasing the volume of foreign investment this year, with upmost attention to be paid to electrical and mechanical engineering, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, and the textile and leather industries. The meeting also discussed the development of green energy, with officials reporting that work is ongoing on 28 projects based on public-private partnerships for the construction of solar, wind, and hybrid power plants with a total capacity of 6.3 gigawatts. Of these, the first, with generating capacities of 2.6 gigawatts, were launched in 2023. Currently, work is underway on the construction of green power plants and energy storage systems together with companies from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, France, and Switzerland. In 2024, Uzbekistan plans to increase the total capacity of solar power plants to 2.6 gigawatts, wind farms to 900 megawatts, and launch energy storage devices with a capacity of 400 megawatts. At the meeting, instructions were relayed to study the possibility of introducing, based on international experience, agrovoltaics - the practice of agricultural producers installing solar panels on their fields to produce energy for their own needs or for sale, and for specific proposals to be drawn up for this area.

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Business & Economy

$10 Million Jewelry Factory to be Launched in Fergana

A jewelry factory will be created in the Fergana region together with Turkish businessmen. The project was discussed at a meeting of the regional khokim (administrative leader), Khairullo Bozorov, local businessman, Ulugbek Abdurakhimov, and Turkish partners, Ali Uyanik and Jezmi Shen, the press service of the regional khokimiyat reports. As of now, it is known that the plant will produce gold and silver jewelry. It is planned that a research department and a professional training center will operate at the plant. Its products will be targeted both at the domestic market and for export to Europe and America. The plant is set to create more than three hundred jobs.

Uzbekistan Life & Culture Uzbekistan Life & Culture Features

President Promises Support for Youth and Business in Uzbekistan in 2024

In his New Year address, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the outgoing year had been successful for the country and its people, emphasizing the importance of peace and tranquility, and an atmosphere of inter-ethnic friendship and harmony in the country. “For the first time in our history, in a nationwide referendum, we adopted a new version of the Constitution of the country. We have begun to implement the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, which determines our development for the future,” Mirziyoyev said. The Uzbek leader stated that the country had ensured sustainable rates of economic growth, and that high-tech industrial enterprises, modern logistics and infrastructure networks, kindergartens and schools, cultural and sports facilities are being built. Mirziyoyev said that 2024 has been declared the Year of Support for Youth and Business in Uzbekistan. “In the new year, we will intensify the attraction of foreign investment and the creation of broad opportunities for entrepreneurship and private property. We will pay special attention to the development of science, innovation, the IT sector, and the creation of green and digital technologies,” he said. The focus will be on creating new jobs and increasing the income of the population, Mirziyoyev said, promising to raise the development of the social sphere to a new level.

Uzbekistan Business & Economy Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Gazprom to Ensure Reliable Natural Gas Supplies to Central Asia

Russian energy company Gazprom has agreed with partners in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on fifteen-year contracts for natural gas supplies. The contracts are to be concluded in mid-2024 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Gazprom’s CEO, Alexey Miller said at the company’s meeting late in December. Gazprom’s press service quoted Miller as saying that “reliable, stable deliveries under these contracts” to the Central Asian countries will begin on November 1st, 2025. Miller also pointed out an increase in the current natural gas supplies to Uzbekistan. As winter frosts came at the beginning of December, Gazprom supplied twice as much gas to Uzbekistan as the company’s daily contractual obligations, Miller stated. The Gazprom CEO also said that in just over three months in 2023, the idle gas transportation system, “Central Asia – Center,” was switched to work in reverse mode. Thanks to such joint work with our colleagues from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Miller said, we implemented this project in the shortest possible time, and this winter, these countries in Central Asia are more reliably provided with gas supplies. In recent years, Uzbekistan’s natural gas industry has experienced problems due to the depletion of reserves at existing gas fields. This prompted Uzbekistan to start importing natural gas from Russia through Kazakhstan in 2023. The Uzbek Statistics Agency said last month that natural gas production had fallen by more than 4.5 billion cubic meters from January-November 2023 as compared to the same period in the previous year. From January-November, 42.7 billion cubic meters of gas was produced, compared to 47.3 billion cubic meters in 2022.

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Features Uzbekistan Business & Economy Business & Economy

Uzbekistan and Turkey Aim to Increase Bilateral Trade to $5 Billion

Over the past five years, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Turkey has grown 1.5-fold, and the leaders of the two countries have set the task of increasing bilateral trade up to $5 billion. This was stated during an Uzbek–Turkish business forum held in Ankara earlier this week, the Uzbek Ministry of Economy and Finance reported. The event gathered together around 300 representatives of the business community from both countries and was attended by Vice President of Turkey, Cevdet Yilmaz, President of the Association of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of the Council for Foreign Economic Relations, Nail Olpak, and Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, Jamshid Kuchkarov. Speaking at the forum, Turkish Vice President Yilmaz said that Turkish-Uzbek trade reached $3.5 billion in 2022, and Turkish investments in Uzbekistan amounted to $1.5 billion, Turkish media reported. At the forum, the Uzbek side, represented by the Ministry of Mining and Geology, the Agency for State Asset Management, the Ministry of Health, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held presentations about opportunities created in Uzbekistan for foreign entrepreneurs, the Uzbek ministry said. The forum participants agreed that among the promising areas for cooperation between the two countries were pharmaceuticals, the leather and shoe industry, the jewelry industry, and the production of building materials, furniture and glass products. Today, approximately 1,800 enterprises with the participation of Turkish capital are operating in Uzbekistan. On the same day, the 7th meeting of the Uzbekistan-Turkey Intergovernmental Commission was held in Ankara, co-chaired by Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Economy and Finance, Jamshid Kuchkarov, and Turkey's Vice President, Cevdet Yilmaz.