A system for reviewing land privatization applications online, without human intervention, will be introduced.
A video conference meeting is being held on the work being carried out in the field of housing construction and urbanization and future priority tasks under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The population in Uzbekistan has exceeded 38 million, with the urbanization rate reaching 51 percent. Consequently, nearly 20 million citizens reside in cities. This was reported by the President's press secretary.
It was noted that the head of state emphasized urbanization as a crucial factor for economic growth, stating that each 1 percent increase in urbanization contributes to at least a 1 percent expansion of the economy. It was also mentioned that this process significantly boosts investment flows, business and startup development, and labor productivity. Therefore, the necessity for a unified approach to the sustainable development of urbanization in the republic was highlighted.
It was reported that 200–250 billion soums are allocated annually from the state budget for developing master plans. These funds should primarily be directed to areas that either lack a master plan or have outdated ones.
The meeting noted the presence of entrepreneurs willing to implement large projects in small towns and urban-type settlements, but their activities are stalling due to the absence of urban planning documents. It was emphasized that some entrepreneurs are even interested in funding the development of master plans with their own resources.
In this regard, regional governors and the Urbanization Committee were tasked with completing, by the end of the current year, master plans for 6 cities and 44 urban-type settlements, as well as master plans for 104 villages, using budget funds. Additionally, it was decided to begin developing urban planning documents for another 50 settlements in cooperation with proactive entrepreneurs.
Problems in the land relations system were also criticized. Specifically, it was noted that in 2025, 14 percent of 112,000 applications for land privatization were rejected on the pretext of lacking a master plan. This resulted in 4,000 hectares of land not being brought into economic circulation and a loss of an additional 550 billion soums in budget revenue.
Therefore, it was instructed to implement, within three months, a system for reviewing land privatization applications online, without human intervention, within 5–10 minutes.
The meeting also criticized that the issues of when and with what resources to build the infrastructure—water, sewerage, heating, gas, electricity networks, and roads—envisioned in master plans are not sufficiently substantiated.
The head of state stressed the necessity of developing and communicating to the population and entrepreneurs comprehensive annual programs to ensure the implementation of each master plan. It was noted that the absence of such a system leads to infrastructure costs increasing by 2–3 times in some areas and the continuation of unregulated construction.
Consequently, each regional governor was tasked with developing, within a two-month period, comprehensive programs for implementing the approved master plans of regional and district centers. Officials were instructed to clearly define in these programs which parts of the projects will be financed from republican and local budgets and which parts from the funds of international financial organizations.
