ADB's Work in Uzbekistan   Download Fact Sheet

ADB is one of Uzbekistan’s largest development partners. ADB’s country partnership strategy for Uzbekistan 2019–2023 is aligned with the country’s national development strategy and its priority areas — (i) governance and public administration reforms; (ii) economic development, including structural reforms, strengthening private ownership and entrepreneurship, and improving transport and trade connectivity; and (iii) social development. The government aims to reduce the state’s footprint through a robust private sector. ADB assists in this transition by providing policy advice, capacity building, and projects that support private sector development, reduce economic and social disparities, and promote regional cooperation and integration.

To date, ADB has committed 228 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $10.4 billion to Uzbekistan. Cumulative loan disbursements to Uzbekistan amount to $6.57 billion. These were financed by regular and concessional ordinary capital resources, and other special funds. ADB’s ongoing sovereign portfolio in Uzbekistan includes 34 loans and 1 grant worth $4.64 billion.

In 2021, ADB committed six new public sector projects and programs totaling $736.7 million for Uzbekistan. In the transport sector, ADB is financing road and railway projects along the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation Corridors 2 and 6. In 2021, ADB committed $162 million for electrifying a 465-kilometer high-speed railway between Bukhara and Khiva via Urgench, which will help reduce travel time from 6.5 to 3 hours. The project will promote job opportunities for women in communities and those working at railway stations. A $121 million ADB loan for the Pap-Namangan-Andijan Railway electrification will help reduce journey times and cost of travel, ensure safer transport for women and children, and modernize stations in the Ferghana Valley.

ADB continues to support sustainable water supply and sanitation services to improve public health and the environment. In 2021, ADB committed a $161 million loan to develop an integrated wastewater management system in six cities, one urban center, and 70 rural settlements in three districts of the Tashkent Province, benefiting 936,000 people in the region.

In 2021, ADB committed a $100 million policy-based loan to enhance the enabling environment for small and medium-sized enterprises and increase their resilience to future economic shocks. This will allow them to become drivers of private sector-led, diversified economic growth with high-value-added job creation. A $93 million skills development project will help modernize training facilities and build the capacity of teachers and trainers in 20 professional training centers and vocational colleges to improve employment opportunities for youth, women, vulnerable people, and the unemployed.

ADB also committed a $100 million policy-based loan in 2021 that helps the Government of Uzbekistan reform the financial markets by promoting a more liquid government bond market and diversifying the investor base. This program aims to reduce systemic vulnerabilities in Uzbekistan’s financial system by moving away from a predominantly bank-based system of financial intermediation. It will play an important role in enabling investors to gain access to alternative investment opportunities and helping raise funds cost-effectively.

ADB provided transaction advisory services to the Tashkent City Municipality to achieve commercial closure by signing a public–private partnerships (PPP) agreement for upgrading, operation, and maintenance of the Tashkent District Heating Network. In addition, ADB supported the government in the successful bidding of the Sherabad Solar Power Plant PPP project — the first project under the 1-gigawatt solar photovoltaic program, and of the Wastewater Treatment Plant in the city of Namangan — the first PPP in the water and sanitation sector. The winning bidders were announced in 2021.

Bibi-Khanym Mosque is a famous historical site in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Photo: ADB

Nonsovereign operations. Total outstanding balances and undisbursed commitments of ADB’s nonsovereign transactions in Uzbekistan as of 31 December 2021 was $262.05 million representing 1.87% of ADB’s total private sector portfolio.

Operational challenges. ADB and the Government of Uzbekistan are working closely to ensure compliance with good international practices in procurement, financial management, and integrity and anticorruption; and to incorporate climate change adaptation and mitigation and gender equality measures into development projects. ADB will continue taking steps to strengthen policy and sector coordination and improve the implementation of its projects. ADB will help line ministries on sector strategic planning and project preparation, build capacity in new project design and implementation, streamline project-readiness processes, and improve procurement and consultant recruitment protocols. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to result in some delays in logistic supply chains and custom clearances for goods and materials for ADB-supported projects, ADB will continue close monitoring efforts to deliver project benefits in a timely manner.

COVID-19 Response

To help fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Ministry of Health procured and supplied 9,900 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits, 10,000 units of CPAP2 masks, and 200 units of intensive care unit functional beds for COVID-19 patients treatment and rehabilitation under a $3 million grant from ADB’s Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund. Under the ongoing COVID-19 Emergency Response Project, 1,000 ambulances were procured in 2021 to respond to the growing number of hospitalizations in the country.

Knowledge Work

ADB remains a trusted adviser with knowledge services to Uzbekistan in reforming urban services, energy sector, skills development, and other critical sectors of the economy. In 2021, ADB provided analytical support and capacity building to the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade in assessing Uzbekistan’s regional integration initiatives and development projects management. ADB helped the road agencies to adopt road maintenance good practice in view of climate change impacts. Institutional strengthening in pursuing economic reforms and transition to green economy became critical topics of ADB’s policy dialogue with the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Finance, and the Center for Economic Reforms and Research.

  ADB Projects in Uzbekistan Project data sheets for loans, grants, TAs

Future Directions

ADB supports the government’s policy to expand private sector engagement and improve the governance of stateowned enterprises and foster transformation and privatization. ADB will continue its policy advice, capacity building, and transaction advisory support to prepare bankable PPP projects. ADB will remain aligned with Uzbekistan’s national development strategy for 2022–2026 and the associated reform agenda. To support Uzbekistan’s green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from COVID-19, ADB will support projects in education, energy, health, finance, transport, agriculture and natural resources, and urban and water services.

Last updated: 10 November 2022