On August 19, a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Republic of Karakalpakstan was held in Kegeyli district.

As in all regions, measures are being taken to increase investment, jobs, and exports in driver areas in Karakalpakstan. Over the past period, 150 projects have been launched in Karakalpakstan, attracting $1.4 billion of foreign direct investment. The number of entrepreneurs has increased from 12,000 to 25,000, and commercial areas have increased by 1.5 million square meters. 212 thousand people have been provided with permanent work.

A favorable environment for business and investment is developing entrepreneurship. For example, 13,000 entrepreneurs who started their activities with a micro project moved to small businesses, and another 351 moved to medium companies. The number of enterprises with an annual turnover of over 100 billion UZS has reached 43.

Changes have occurred in the social infrastructure. In particular, preschool education coverage increased from 28 to 84 percent. 21 new schools were built, and another 243 were completely renovated.

A 17-storey IT Park for 700 people was built for the first time. As part of the “One Million Uzbek Coders” project, about 40,000 young people from Karakalpakstan were trained for two years.

74 family medical centers, 81 polyclinics, and 92 mahalla medical centers were established in the districts and cities. Combined injury and acute vascular disease centers were created in Turtkul, Kungrad, and Chimbay districts.

Until recently, more than 100,000 people faced difficulties due to their lack of ownership of their homes. This problem has been solved. The ownership of housing for 27,000 citizens has been recognized.

A Mahalla Support Fund has been created in Karakalpakstan, and 500 million UZS have been allocated for each of the 452 mahallas. As a result, 316 kilometers of internal roads were repaired, 151 kilometers of power grids were updated, 55 kilometers of gas and 112 kilometers of water supply networks were laid.

A 240-kilometer highway along the Bukhara-Nukus-Beyneu route will be operational in the coming days, thanks to $274 million raised from the Asian Development Bank.

A large-scale program to improve the climate conditions in the Aral Sea region has been launched. Over the past seven years, 1.9 million hectares of green space have been created on the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea. The International Innovation Center of the Aral Sea region has been created to improve the ecosystem and develop new varieties and seeds in a saline, waterless environment.

A program for adapting agriculture to climate change has recently been approved. According to it, $80 million will be allocated to mitigate the effects of climate change in the Aral Sea region. These funds will be used to restore 100,000 hectares of pastures, grow varieties that correspond to soil and climate conditions, strengthen the forage base for livestock, and train personnel.

At the same time, there are many untapped opportunities. Some investment projects are being implemented slowly. Since the beginning of the year, 19,000 enterprises in Karakalpakstan have taken advantage of tax breaks worth 350 billion UZS. As a result, entrepreneurs came out of the shadows and expanded their activities, which allowed them to employ 4,000 people. However, 6,000 enterprises that received benefits lost jobs.

No region has such opportunities and conditions as those created for business in Karakalpakstan. If these opportunities were transformed into projects and jobs, the indicators would be 5-10 times higher.

For this reason, the hokims of Karauzak and Takhiatash were dismissed at the end of the first half of the year. Disciplinary sanctions were applied to the hokims of Amudarya, Beruni, Bozatau, Kegeyli, Kungrad, Kanlykul, Muynak, Takhtakupir, Turtkul, Khojeyli, and Chimbay districts.

The enormous opportunities in the country were noted at the meeting. 

For example, 1.3 million tourists have arrived in Karakalpakstan since the beginning of the year, but there are few hotel rooms. If land is provided, entrepreneurs have expressed a desire to build a modern hotel and a congress hall.

Organizing housing, modern hotels, and recreation areas in 20 hectares around Achchik-Kul, located in the city of Nukus, is possible. Along the Dustlik and Kegeyli, Tasli Jap, and Shirin Jap canals in Khojeyli, it is possible to organize shopping and entertainment establishments. There is also great potential for attracting tourists to Amudarya, Turtkul, and Beruni.

300 trade and service facilities can be placed on an area of ​​140 hectares along the Guzar-Bukhara-Nukus-Beynau road. If a modern market is built in Ellikkala, the volume of trade and services will increase.

Last year, 22 hectares of Beruni district were allocated to expand the Urgut Free Economic Zone’s territory. However, no project has been initiated here, although this territory has all the infrastructure and a railway passes through. Raw materials are also located nearby.

If a simplified land allocation system in Karakalpakstan is introduced for the economic zone’s territory, projects worth $320 million will be possible.

Investors are ready to invest $10 million to launch a cluster specializing in sheep breeding on 500 hectares in “Koybak” mahalla in Karauzak. This cluster contains 10 thousand sheep and produces 100 tons of meat.

The Head of state instructed responsible persons to use these opportunities and develop the economy.

In Karakalpakstan, 103 large projects worth $1.9 billion have been formed. In the industries, 14 projects worth $275 million will be launched during the year. More than 120 promising projects worth $9.5 billion have been prepared.

Responsible persons have been instructed to prepare the program “Do Business in Karakalpakstan” together with entrepreneurs for each district. This program will become a new source for developing industry, agriculture, and services in Karakalpakstan, with at least $10 billion of investment and creating 500 thousand jobs.

In short, big goals have been set so that the future of the Karakalpak people is better than today. It was emphasized that for this, everyone must work together and selflessly.

This year, a resolution was adopted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the great poet of the Turkic people, Ajiniyaz. The Head of state recalled that the poet called the selfless people who served the people “his majesty man” and called on everyone to work similarly.

“As I have already said, the Uzbeks and Karakalpaks have the same history and destiny. I believe that our bright, happy future will be the same. I wish you, young people and entrepreneurs, new success on this path”, the President said.

The leaders of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, industries, and hokims of cities and districts presented reports on the issues discussed.

UzA