Residents of Surkhandarya region always look forward to the arrival of the President. The tasks set during such trips and the reforms being carried out on their basis are fundamentally changing the socio-economic life of the region, serving to make people satisfied with the state and their lives. Along with the agricultural sector, which is one of the main drivers of the region, the spheres of industry, construction, services and other areas are consistently developing, new jobs are being created. Multi-storey residential buildings with all conditions are being built, the standard of living of the population is rising.
Such large-scale changes and transformations that have taken place in recent years are also reflected in the main indicators of the region. In 2016, the gross regional product was 12 trillion 179 billion UZS, and at the end of last year – 34 trillion 858 billion UZS. During this period, the volume of industrial production increased from 2 trillion 200 billion UZS to 7 trillion 298 billion UZS, and export volumes increased from $148 billion to $227 billion. If in 2016 there were 25,674 enterprises operating in the region, then by the end of last year their number exceeded 46,250. Large-scale growth rates were also observed in such sectors as construction, agriculture and the provision of services.
Such renovations and transformations taking place in the life of the region create favorable conditions for hardworking and sympathetic residents to widely use the opportunities of the oasis, hard work and improve the standard of living. During the trips of the Head of state, growth points of the territories are determined and roadmaps are developed, which is of great importance in further developing the oasis.
During his visit to the region on 1-2 June 2021, the President carefully got acquainted with the ongoing reforms in socio-economic development of the region, defined priority areas and specific tasks for the integrated development of the oasis, solving the problems of the population based on the “mahallabay” system, and improving people’s lives. Over the past period, positive results have been achieved in the region in entrepreneurship, employment and poverty reduction. The “mahallabay” system of work has been introduced, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure employment of the population, the broad development of entrepreneurship, and the solution of problems related to infrastructure. It has become a tradition that the leaders of the sectors of the region determine the growth points of mahallas located on their territory, spend part of their working time directly in mahallas, study and solve existing problems.
A new integrated system has been formed that connects the owners of subsidiary plots with processing enterprises and exporting enterprises for the effective use of the possibilities of personal plots. According to the principle of “one mahalla – one product”, a roadmap was developed for growing vegetables and herbs in 86 thousand, high-yielding varieties of potatoes – in 72 thousand, grapes – in 36 thousand, pomegranate according to the experience of Sherabad – in 43 thousand households.
60,572 hectares of sown areas freed from grain were allocated to 197,112 unemployed and citizens included in social notebooks (15-20 acres each) for 10 years based on a lease agreement for growing vegetables, melons and gourds and generating income.
The main attention was also paid to the problem of clean drinking water, which has been worrying the people of Surkhandarya for many years. A solution to this problem was found. It became another vivid reflection of the fact that in Uzbekistan the honor and dignity of a person are valued above all else. To provide over 100 thousand residents of Termez and Termez district with clean drinking water, the Head of state gave relevant instructions to organize water wells found in the “Sabzipoya” mahalla, as well as to improve the supply of drinking water to 1 million 700 thousand consumers in 495 mahallas – on the implementation of a project for the construction and reconstruction of water distribution, water purification and water facilities using the Tupalang Reservoir. Construction and installation work continues at these facilities. As part of the $138 million project to use the water of the Tupalang Reservoir, it is planned to build 158.2 km of main and 227.9 km of domestic drinking water pipelines. In a short time, the builders laid a water supply network over a distance of almost 100 kilometers. This year, the first stage of the water supply network of “Sabzipoya” will be put into operation.
To prevent possible power outages in the region on the Tupalang River, a cascade of small HPPs Zarchob-1 and Zarchob-2 with a capacity of 75.6 MW was built and put into operation. In the agricultural sector, 28 electric motors and 15 different pumps were replaced with new ones, saving 7.3 million kWh.
During the trip, meeting the needs of the population in housing was also defined as one of the important tasks. Last year alone, 92 residential buildings with 3,390 apartments were built. Of these, 66 houses, designed for 1,560 apartments, were built in the neighborhood “Yangi O’zbekiston”, 26 houses (1,836 apartments) – on the “Yangi Tartib” new system. Three nine-story, two 12-story, two 14-story and two 16-story modern residential buildings with 808 apartments were built on 2.7 hectares allocated from the “Farovon” neighborhood in Termez.
The renovations and transformations in the medical and educational systems that have taken place in a short time have also increased people’s confidence in the reforms, their sense of belonging to the fate of the country. For example, in 2017, there were only 294 preschool education institutions in the region, and this year their number reached 2444. The coverage of children with preschool education increased from 13.6 percent in 2017 to 62.2 percent.
The Karabair equestrian school, established in Termez district on the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has become one of the most beloved training centers for young people, a unique complex where equestrian competitions are held. And restoration of Said Otalik Madrasah in Denau district for 13 billion UZS helped to preserve this monument, located in the center of the region. Now it is one of the favorite places for tourists. Comprehensive development programs are being adopted for territories with a relatively low level of socio-economic development – Bandikhan, Qiziriq, Muzrabad and Sherabad districts.
Such big changes that have taken place from a visit to visit of the Head of state do not happen by themselves. Large funds have been allocated for this. The potential of the oasis is being rationally used. In particular, in 2022 alone, 956 projects worth $591.8 million were implemented in the region and 15,173 jobs were created. Of these, 274 projects worth 2.5 trillion UZS were launched in the industry, 470 projects worth 3 trillion UZS in the service sector, and 212 projects worth 1.1 trillion UZS in agriculture. 11 large production facilities worth $53 million were commissioned, employing 810 people. Last year, foreign investments of $250.9 million were mastered in the region and products worth $258.1 million were exported.
46 mining sites and promising areas have been put up on the E-Auksion electronic trading platform to develop local industrial sectors using the available opportunities, raw materials and other resources of the southern oasis, rich in underground and surface resources. Project teams and the Surkhan Exploration Expedition are carrying out exploration work at 18 sites in Baysun, Sariasiya, Sherabad districts of the region.
During the current trip, the President got acquainted with the updates that have taken place in the socio-economic sphere of the oasis, took part in the opening of modern companies specializing in new types of competitive products, and met with the region’s representatives. The Head of state determined promising areas for further development of the territories and improving the living standards of the population. All this will serve the further development and prosperity of the region in the coming years and its transformation into a prosperous and industrialized southern pearl of the country.
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Kholmumin Mamatrayimov, UzA