This is why supporting entrepreneurs should become a daily responsibility for all leaders — from the central apparatus to the grassroots levels,” stated the head of our state at the beginning of his speech.
Particular attention was drawn to the fact that local hokims should engage more frequently with each entrepreneur, visit enterprises, and immerse themselves in their issues.
It was specifically noted that members of the Public Council for Entrepreneur Support have become a bridge between the government and businesses, putting forward concrete proposals. As a result, this year alone, 5 laws and 101 decrees and resolutions have been adopted, which are of vital importance for the activities of entrepreneurs.
The President expressed deep gratitude to the council members and, through them, to the entire business community for their active involvement.
It was noted that in recent years, the amount of money in our economy has increased, creating a solid foundation for sustainable financing of investment projects.
In particular, enterprise funds in banks have grown by 20 trillion soums, reaching 107 trillion soums. The deposits of the population have also increased by 25 trillion soums, totaling 105 trillion soums.
It was emphasized that this reflects the stable development of our banks as well as the growing trust in them from the population and entrepreneurs.
By the end of the year, the total volume of issued loans will amount to 275 trillion soums. By 2025, this figure is expected to exceed 300 trillion soums.
Special attention has been paid to increasing the share of loans for small businesses from the current 28% to 40%, which will raise their volume to 120 trillion soums.
Based on the needs of entrepreneurs, our banks plan to attract 6 billion dollars from abroad by 2025 without government guarantees.
Thanks to the widespread implementation of factoring, services worth 100 million dollars have been provided this year alone.
This year, 35 trillion soums were allocated for improving infrastructure facilities such as roads, water supply, electricity supply, gas, and railways. An additional 43 trillion soums is planned for next year.
To ensure a stable energy supply for enterprises, electricity production reached 82 billion kWh.
With the commissioning of new energy capacities based on “green” and advanced technologies, with a total cost of 6.3 billion dollars, approximately 90 billion kWh of electricity will be produced next year.
Work in this direction will continue: by 2025, within the framework of 25 projects worth 6.4 billion dollars, new capacities totaling 4.8 GW will be created.
It was noted that the time has come to transition to a competitive market in the energy sector. Currently, there are 24 independent electricity producers in the country. For the first time, an online wholesale electricity market will begin operations in 2025.
A significant amount of work has been done in the tourism sector. Thanks to investments from entrepreneurs totaling 6.5 trillion soums, hotels with a total capacity of 24,000 beds have been put into operation.
Next year, the number of beds will increase by another 30,000. Entrepreneurs are ready to invest 10 trillion soums in this.
In addition to the 17 large trade and tourist complexes launched this year, another 25 will be added.
An agreement has been reached to start construction in the Bostanlyk district of a large center worth 10 billion dollars called “Sea Breeze.”
Moreover, prestigious hotel brands such as Swissôtel, Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, Novotel, Pullman, Marriott, ibis, and Mercure — a total of 23 brands — are entering our country.
To develop trade, a separate company has been established, and 350 million dollars has been allocated for export financing. As a result, for every dollar allocated, entrepreneurs ensured exports worth 6 dollars.
Next year, an additional 300 million dollars will be allocated for these purposes.
This year, entrepreneurs acquired 3,000 state-owned properties and 4,000 hectares of land worth 11.5 trillion soums, launching their businesses.
Next year, 4,500 properties and 6,000 hectares of land will be offered to entrepreneurs.
The involvement of the private sector in the repair and maintenance of roads, which have long been monopolized by the state, will be expanded. This year, the maintenance of 260 km of roads was transferred to private entrepreneurs. Next year, this number will increase to 3,000 km.
Within the framework of the initiative budget, 92% of road repair work has been carried out by private contractors, and this figure is expected to reach 100%.
As part of a project involving the Asian Development Bank, local contractors will fully construct 841 km of roads in 86 districts.
In the railway sector, thanks to digitalization and increased operational efficiency, the delivery time for cargo has been reduced by 40%.
Importantly, due to an increase in unloading times from 2 hours to 3 days at stations, entrepreneurs save 57 billion soums annually.
The role of the private sector in the aviation industry is also growing. Currently, the number of private airlines has reached 14. An additional 6 cargo and 16 passenger aircraft have been acquired.
The airports of Bukhara and Namangan have been transferred to private partnership, and tenders for the airports of Andijan and Urgench are ongoing.
The news is being updated.
#Shavkat Mirziyoyev