President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting in the Kashkadarya region to discuss the effectiveness of ongoing reforms and future priority tasks. The meeting reviewed the region's economic indicators: last year, gross regional product grew by 6.8%, industry by 7.2%, the service sector by 13.6%, and agriculture by 4.3%. From 2017 to 2025, per capita GRP increased 3.2-fold to 26.9 million soums, while unemployment and poverty rates decreased to 4.9% and 6.5%, respectively.
The meeting emphasized the need to ensure high growth rates in industry by launching 195 projects worth $1.7 billion, expanding production capacities, and establishing micro-industrial centers. Plans were also discussed to create the Mubarek Special Innovation Industrial Zone and the Karshi Green Technologies Industrial Zone, where 36 projects worth over $1.1 billion are slated for implementation in 2026-2027, creating about 6,000 new jobs.
To further reduce poverty, plans were outlined for deep and medium specialization of mahallas based on new approaches, along with providing preferential loans and subsidies. Specifically, through the allocation of 820 billion soums in loans and 52.3 billion soums in subsidies, the aim is to create 48,000 entrepreneurial entities and implement 31,000 micro-projects, with targets to lower unemployment to 3.2% and poverty to 3% by the end of 2026. The districts of Guzar, Kamashi, Kukdala, Mirishkor, Shahrisabz, and Yakkabag are designated to become zones free from poverty and unemployment.
Infrastructure development plans include a project to supply drinking water from the Gissarak Reservoir to the city of Karshi, involving the construction of 16 water supply facilities and 416 km of pipeline network, as well as the reconstruction of sewer networks in Karshi, Shahrisabz, and the Dehkanabad and Kamashi districts. In tourism, projects were presented to establish the "Maydanoq" high-mountain tourist center in Kamashi district and the "Gelon" international all-season resort for 13,000 tourists in Shahrisabz district.
Social sector initiatives include measures to support families and women and develop the healthcare system, such as creating new state and private kindergartens and schools, providing employment for 120,000 women, training 21,000 women in professional and entrepreneurial skills, and assisting 102,000 women under the "Women's Notebook" program. Additionally, new initiatives were introduced to organize orderly labor migration and vocational training in cooperation with Germany, with plans to send 3,000 young people to work in Germany in 2026 and 5,000 in 2027, and to open an Education and Technologies Center in Karshi for their training.
Source: kun.uz