On June 1, a meeting was held in Gijduvan district on issues of social and economic development of Bukhara region.
At the beginning of his speech, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted changes taking place in the region. In recent years, the region’s economy has grown by 1,5 times, exceeding 53 trillion Uzbek soums, and per capita income has reached 26 million Uzbek soums. In the industrial, agricultural and service sectors, 4,6 thousand enterprises were created, providing 90 thousand jobs. Exports reached US $215 million. In each of the Karakul, Jandar, Shafirkan and Kagan districts, industrial production exceeded 1 trillion Uzbek soums per year.
– It is necessary to continue the consistent development of the economy and create new jobs, to educate the youth, – said the President. – We have opportunities for this. It is necessary to improve conditions for more than 2 million people in 544 makhallas using these opportunities. Every day, all systems must work and find ways to achieve these goals.
The President stressed that the creation of decent conditions for the unemployed, the poor and those facing difficulties abroad is a strategic objective for the khokims and sector leaders.
In this regard, it was noted that this year in Bukhara small businesses will be granted an additional 2,1 trillion Uzbek soums of loans in addition to the already allocated 5,9 trillion Uzbek soums. For small businesses, tourism and service another US $100 million will be allocated. This will employ 78 thousand people by the end of the year.
Significant employment opportunities are found in industrial zones. A large industrial complex is being built in Kagan district on an area of 1000 hectares. In the first stage, the project will be implemented for US $300 million. This will add US $250 million to the economy of the region, create 2,000 jobs, and provide 250 billion Uzbek soums of tax revenue and US $100 million of export.
This year three large objects worth US $50 million in the field of electrical engineering will be introduced in Bukhara and Karaulbazar. A factory for the production of reinforced concrete products will be built. A jewellery centre will be created in the historical part of Bukhara.
Two hundred billion Uzbek soums will be allocated for the infrastructure of investment projects. This will accelerate the launch of five projects worth US $405 million. For instance, the petrochemical cluster in the Bukhara region will produce benzene, olefins, aromatic hydrocarbons, pentane and hexane naphtha solvents. This will provide a value-added of 4,5 trillion Uzbek soums, export earnings of US $130 million and create 600 high-yield jobs.
It was noted that the participation of industrial enterprises of the region in cooperative procurement is insufficient. Instructions were given to increase the participation of producers in public procurement. Only real producers will participate in the Cooperation Portal, and the register of enterprises and their annual capacity will be updated.
In Bukhara, the necessary conditions are being created to attract 5 million foreign tourists per year. Construction of the cultural and ethnographic park “Eternal Bukhara” and a new airport has begun in the city center.
Instructions were given for the restoration of 30 historical monuments in the region, the creation of a recreation area on the bank of the Zarafshan River and the increase of the number of recreation places on Lake Tudakul.
The Government was instructed to develop a programme to study in depth the rich heritage of our great ancestors and to increase tourism content around monuments.
There are also untapped opportunities in agriculture. In the region, 57 percent of cotton is processed, and the rest is sold as raw materials four times cheaper. Although 1,2 million tons of fruit and vegetables are produced in the region, their export is small due to the lack of salesplaces and packaging systems.
A technopark to accommodate enterprises in these industries will be created on an area of 30 hectares of the free economic zone “Karakul”. In particular, the buildings will be constructed on a blended basis and will be handed over to foreign and local partners on favourable terms. This will allow a complete conversion to processing and double exports.
In the Nizhegorodsky District and Penza (Russia) markets for the Bukhara region will be created.
While discussing irrigation, it was noted that 87 percent of water delivery costs in the region were for electricity. Replacing pumps with energy-saving pumps will save at least 400 billion Uzbek soums per year.
The President noted the importance of the meeting being held in Gijduvan, emphasizing the local people’s entrepreneurship. In recent years, the district’s industry doubled and exceeded 2 trillion Uzbek soums. At this time, more than 2 thousand new entrepreneurs began to work.
In order to continue this pace, the tasks were defined to orient entrepreneurs to export, bring small-scale industries out of the shadows, train young people in professions and build a modern hospital have been defined.
Gijduvan entrepreneurs offered to train students of 10-11 grades and college students in post-school professions, paying salaries of up to 2 million Uzbek soums per month with free lunch and transport. The President approved the proposal, stressing that it should be turned into a useful experience.
Overall, as it was noted, Gijduvan has the potential to create 25 thousand jobs and increase exports by US $50 million.
Bank executives presented plans to create 55 thousand jobs with investments of 2 trillion Uzbek soums.
The meeting heard presentations by khokims and sector leaders, as well as proposals by entrepreneurs.