Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In line with the Presidential resolution on "Measures for Effective Organization of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change," a system is being implemented to digitize the environmental impact assessment process and create a more transparent system.

Under the directive of the Minister of Ecology, an electronic mechanism has been introduced for the approval of situational maps for projects submitted for environmental review. This approval process, based on accurate and reliable data, is ensured by the responsible staff of the regional departments of the Ministry of Ecology.

Once the project documentation is submitted electronically by the applicant through the State Environmental Expertise Center’s platform, eco-service.uz, an application is automatically generated and sent to the relevant district (city) inspection department head and responsible inspectors.

The district (city) inspection department head and inspectors, after gaining access to the eco-service.uz platform via digital signatures (ECP), review the situational maps by visiting the site. They verify whether the declared geographic coordinates of the object, recreational areas, residential neighborhoods, water and gas pipelines, and other relevant features match the situational map provided.

If all the information is accurate, the situational map is approved, and the system sends the report to the State Environmental Expertise Center. If defects are found during the inspection, the situational map will be rejected.

Inspectors review and approve situational maps within the following timeframes:

- Category I environmental impact objects: 10 working days

- Category II environmental impact objects: 7 working days

- Category III environmental impact objects: 5 working days

- Category IV environmental impact objects: 3 working days

After the situational maps are approved by the district (city) inspection department head and responsible environmental control inspectors, the applicant’s request is forwarded to the responsible employee at the State Environmental Expertise Center for further environmental review.

Previously, this process was labor-intensive for entrepreneurs, as all project documents had to be prepared on paper and submitted in person to the relevant authorities. This situation led to several issues, including a lack of efficiency, difficulties in tracking documents, and excessive use of resources. The newly implemented electronic document submission system significantly simplifies the process, saves time, and reduces hassle.