Infrastructure Roads

16.10.2009

International analysts have already described the year 2009 in Uzbekistan as the year of infrastructural development. Not least it is about 200 new manufacturing plants, 4,000 square meters of housing, 840 km of water pipelines and 435 km of gas networks commissioned in the first half of this year.

It has been called the most systemic approach to the development of social and productive infrastructure in regions. In early 2009, President of Uzbekistan approved a program of rural development and improvement that outlined nine major directions of this activity. Along with that, regional development programs were drafted and approved that were designed to focus local state bodies and investors on specific projects and tasks, customized for each region. These regional programs represented a sort of small components in the overall mechanism of rural development and improvement program. If the state program, as experts note, mapped out major activities, the regional programs took into account local conditions and specificities when working on projects, involving local reserves and capacities.

In this case, the examples of Namangan and Navoi regions, in which targeted development programs led to noticeable results within a short period of time, are especially worthy of note. Two projects of not just regional but also international importance have been launched in Navoi region – a free industrial and economic zone and an international intermodal logistics center at Navoi Airport. Investment drawn toward these projects will create a number of hi-tech industries and appropriate infrastructure as well as new jobs, increase export potential of the republic. With regard to Namangan region, in 2012 it is planned to create almost 290,000 new jobs and increase industrial production 2.2 times, up to 960 billion soums. In accomplishing their main objective – development of specific regions – these investment projects became a kind of indicators of guarantees, privileges and preferences the government provides to national and foreign investors. Numerous experts acknowledge that the effect of foreign direct investment in various sectors of the economy has already exceeded all expectations. The total volume of drawn foreign investments in the first half of 2009 amounted to approximately $1.210 billion, including more than $1.060 billion of direct foreign investment. Today the country is working on nearly 670 different investment projects. Most of them are aimed at modernization and reengineering of enterprises in accordance with current market conditions.

The global economic crisis which affected every country’s economy has played its role in modifying major investment projects in Uzbekistan. In response to new realities, the country developed a mechanism for accelerated implementation of projects included in the Program of Measures on most important projects of modernization and technological re-equipment of production for 2009-2014. Initiators of projects got the right to develop documentation on investment projects without preliminary feasibility study. Such mechanism will be applied in more than 60 investment projects totaling over $8.4 billion.

Cost-effective generation

One of the largest expositions represented companies of electric power industry. Electricity, especially in modern conditions, is an important factor in ensuring efficiency of production, manufacture of competitive products. Also, what is particularly important is that today Uzbekistan puts a heavy emphasis on providing uninterrupted electricity supply in rural areas, improving reliability of power generating facilities and transmission lines. Uzbekenergo has developed an ambitious program of modernization and technological reengineering of the industry through 2012. Toward the end of this year, the company plans to complete 16 projects worth about 27.7 billion soums, and invest 4.8 billion soums in the replacement of 380 km of power networks and more than 280 transformers (6-10 kW). These projects will reinforce energy potential of the country and ensure reliable and quality power supply to consumers. It should be noted that in modern conditions of instability in the global economy, one of the main directions in Uzbekistan’s policy is optimization of production processes, energy efficiency of enterprises and introduction of energy-saving technologies. In particular, Uzbekenergo revealed a series of measures to reduce production costs through reducing the costs in generating, distribution and marketing enterprises.

Uzbek government has made another step toward improving energy efficiency. For example, the government developed a special package of measures to improve metering and control systems of electric energy consumption, ensuring full payment for the delivered electric energy to business entities, rural and urban consumers.

In 2009, Uzbekistan began introduction of automated electric power control and metering system for large business entities with sending the data to regional power enterprises. On the second stage in 2010, it is planned to introduce the automated systems of regional power supply organizations with uniting about 1.5 million electricity meters of power organizations and consumers. Finally, on the third stage in 2011, it is projected to connect all metering complexes with power metering devices and automated systems of assessing and controlling electrical energy consumption throughout the country. According to forecasts, the expected economic effect of the introduction of the project through reducing the technological power losses will realize 20 billion soums per year. In addition, the possibility of regulating the peak load will result in annual savings of over 100,000 tons of reference fuel and less emissions.

Logistics

Uzbekistan, with its advantageous geographical location in the heart of the Central Asian region, has a ramified transport-transit network. Freight and passenger flows from Asia to Europe and Middle East allow the country to be an active participant in international transit relationships. In addition, the access to major ports and transportation hubs enables export of domestic goods to neighboring states and other continents.

This year, the work on the development of the national transport system in connection with the development of regions enjoys special attention. In the first half of 2009, the construction and reconstruction of public roads of international and national importance attracted about 140 billion soums.

We should note that over the past three years, the republic carries on a special program of public roads development, which has already provided a reliable link between all regions of the country.

Improvement of towns and villages is one of the main challenges of the year. Another mechanism for its solution was a program of supplying rural-development administrations with modern technologies and equipment. In 2009 alone, approximately 11 billion soums was allocated for these purposes, and the total amount of funds assigned for improving human settlements amounted to 26 billion soums.

Uzbekistan Infrastructure-2009, said its participants and organizers, is the call of modern economic realities. Despite the global economic crisis, the well-thought-out strategy of the state and implementation of programs in modernization and diversification of production, creation of export oriented manufactures, accelerated development of infrastructure and communications, have allowed the country to increase the growth rate of the gross domestic product and maintain balanced and sustainable development. The rural population has already felt the changes taking place in regions. Comfortable houses are built in accordance with standard yet innovative design, all the necessary industrial and social infrastructure is being created, and Uzbekistan, as foreign participants put, is growing into a developed and prosperous country where people themselves build their future.