September 26, 2024

PPP project for 2024-2030 in Uzbekistan

The President of Uzbekistan has enacted a Decree of 30.08.2024 “On measures to develop the public-private partnership in the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2024-2030”.

This legal act aims to accelerate the development of public-private partnership (PPP) in the Republic of Uzbekistan in the period from 2024 to 2030. In order to ensure the target indicator of attracting private investment in the amount of at least 30 billion US dollars in public-private partnership projects by 2030 in accordance with the strategy “Uzbekistan – 2030”, the following were approved:

  • measures for the implementation of priority PPP projects in 2024 – 2026;
  • programs of projects that will be implemented on the basis of PPP in 2024 – 2030.

In this vein, the need for the following initiatives was highlighted:

  • construction and modernization of at least 1,000 km of modern toll highways, including the start of construction of the Tashkent-Samarkand highway in 2024 and the Tashkent-Andijan highway in 2026, in order to create additional conditions for convenient and high-speed road communication between major cities;
  • signing agreements providing for the transfer of electricity distribution networks to private operators by July 1, 2027 and natural gas distribution networks by the end of 2027, with a reduction in annual energy losses by at least half;
  • reaching agreements on the modernization of all obsolete irrigation pumping stations by 2028 in order to additionally save up to 30% of electricity annually;
  • attracting private companies to modernize and manage water supply and sewerage networks in each region by the end of 2028, taking into account ensuring that the population is covered by clean and uninterrupted drinking water up to 87%, and centralized sewerage provision – up to 30%;
  • starting in 2026, organizing the annual construction and management of at least 100 schools and 100 preschool educational institutions based on PPP principles, in order to create modern educational facilities capable of accommodating over 400,000 students and more than 300,000 children in preschool institutions;
  • building multidisciplinary hospitals serving more than 100 thousand patients, and transferring their management to private operators in order to expand the availability of medical services based on advanced technologies.

To ensure the legal basis for PPP, it is planned to develop a draft law on amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On State Debt”, providing for the establishment of an upper limit for obligations assumed by the state (take or pay) and Comfort letter for the PPP projects.