Uzbekistan's Bukhara Region is set to undergo comprehensive changes in industry, tourism, and infrastructure over the next two years. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the region's development strategy at a meeting on April 2. A key component of the strategy involves launching annual production of 80,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in the Kagan district, with the project valued at $350 million.
Industrial development will not be limited to automotive manufacturing. The petroleum-chemical cluster in Bukhara and Karauzbazar districts will be expanded to include production of benzene, toluene, bitumen, and high-octane gasoline grades AI-91 and AI-92. By 2026, the region aims to attract $3.3 billion in foreign investment, which would increase the gross regional product to a record 102 trillion Uzbek soums.
In tourism, authorities plan to transform Bukhara into a global tourism hub with a target of hosting 9 million visitors by 2026. A new tourism center with international hotel brands is under construction in the regional capital, while a separate tourist town will be created in Kagan based on six historical sites. Management of the historical center will strictly adhere to UNESCO requirements, and hospitality training will be entrusted to Austria's Krems University.
The social component of the strategy focuses on job creation and improving living standards. Plans include reducing unemployment and poverty rates to a historic low of 2%. A housing complex with 10,000 apartments will be built in the Rahotak neighborhood, a new campus for Bukhara State University will be constructed, and strategic sections of highways to Nukus and Samarkand will be reconstructed. In agriculture, emphasis will shift to intensive technologies with plans to develop 100,000 hectares of new land and establish a network of 110 modern mini-farms.
A new branch of the specialized school named after the great scholar Abu Ali ibn Sina was recently inaugurated in Bukhara. Previously, it was reported that students from such schools had earned billions of soums in prizes at international olympiads.
Source: podrobno.uz