Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Trips of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the regions are traditionally accompanied by the launch of major projects. Thus, today the construction of large energy and transport complexes has begun in Bukhara region.

Over the past five years, the volume of the processing industry in our country has increased 1.4 times, and last year alone it amounted to 553 trillion soums. In Bukhara, this figure increased 1.6 times and reached 30 trillion soums.

In the region, work is underway on 41 projects worth US$7 billion in foreign investment and 39 projects through local investment for the same amount.

It is planned to build three more large facilities - a gas chemical complex, a solar power plant and an international airport in Bukhara.

At the start of work ceremony, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of these projects.

The gas chemical complex, which will be built in the Karakul free economic zone, will be the first plant in our country operating using the methanol to olefins (MTO) technology.

The project will attract about US$5 billion in investments and advanced technologies from the USA, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy and China. The complex will process 1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 430 thousand tons of naphtha per year with the production of 1.1 million tons of polymer products in demand both on the domestic and global markets. According to calculations, the added value of these products will exceed the cost of gas by five times.

The new plant will employ 2 thousand people. In addition, it will give impetus to the creation of dozens of enterprises in the construction, textile, leather and footwear, automotive, electrical and other related industries, and will lead to the creation of another 4 thousand jobs.

The launch of these projects will turn Bukhara into a “driver” not only of tourism, but also of industry.

Steady economic growth increases demand for electricity by an average of 6 percent per year. Therefore, new generating capacities are being created in the regions.

In recent years, 10 solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 2 gigawatts have come online with US$2 billion in foreign investment. Currently, 32 green generation facilities with a total capacity of 18.3 gigawatts worth US$19 billion are being built together with foreign partners.

The first 2.6 gigawatts of 14 solar and wind farms will come online this year. As a result, the share of renewable energy in the total electricity production in our country will increase from 9 to 15 percent. In general, by 2030 this figure is planned to increase to 40 percent.

In this, of course, sunny Bukhara occupies a special place. Currently, 9 large projects with a capacity of 4 gigawatts worth about US$4.5 billion in foreign investment are being implemented in the region.

Now they will be added to a solar power plant with a capacity of 250 megawatts, which will be built by the Masdar company from the United Arab Emirates. 648 hectares of land have been allocated for this project in the Alat region. The station is planned to be connected to the unified energy grid in December 2025.

In addition, renewable energy complexes are being built in the Bukhara region by ACWA Power from Saudi Arabia and Gezhouba from China. By 2030, the region’s capacity will increase 9 times - up to 12.5 billion kilowatt-hours of green energy per year.

Another project that has started is a new international airport.

Thanks to the openness policy of our state, ties with the world are strengthening. Uzbekistan has introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of more than 90 countries.

As a result, the flow of foreign visitors has increased. Over the past 2 years, the share of tourism in exports of services has reached 40 percent. 283 hotels, 486 hostels, 1.2 thousand family guest houses were built. Tourist flow increased by 35 percent.

Thus, in 2023, about 1.4 million foreign tourists came to Bukhara.

Such factors require an increase in the number of flights at the region’s international airport. Therefore, on the terms of a private partnership, it is planned to build a new international airport in the Bukhara region.

This US$226 million project will create airport infrastructure that meets international standards. Conditions are provided to serve 1.2 thousand passengers per hour. By improving the quality of service for passengers and aircraft, new international airlines will be attracted.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched the construction of these complexes by pressing a symbolic button.

A presentation of projects planned for construction in the Bukhara region, including a new airport, took place here.