Uzbekistan has proposed capping state obligations for public-private partnership projects at $6.5 billion.

In the energy sector, 48 major projects worth $18.5 billion are currently being implemented with the support of government-backed lenders.

2024-10-31 10:36:34https://daryo.uz/ru/2024/10/30/v-uzbekistane-predlozili-ogranicit-gosobazatelstva-po-proektam-gcp-do-65-mlrd

In Uzbekistan, a proposal has been made to limit state obligations for PPP projects to $6.5 billion

The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan has put forward an initiative to set a cap on state obligations in public-private partnership (PPP) projects at $6.5 billion. This measure was proposed in the budget message for 2025–2027 to manage potential risks to the state budget.

Currently, Uzbekistan is implementing 990 PPP projects with a total value of $2 billion, which are included in the state registry. Additionally, there are 48 major investment projects in the energy sector amounting to $18.5 billion, for which the government provides various guarantees to creditors.

Experts from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Asian Development Bank, who include energy projects in their assessment of PPP obligations, note that actual budget obligations may exceed the figures in the registry. In October, the IMF recommended implementing annual limits on the value of all signed PPP projects.

At a press conference on October 29, Ilkhom Umrzakov, the director of the PPP project implementation department, stated that a model for assessing the impact of PPP obligations on the budget has been developed in collaboration with international financial organizations. Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Akhadbek Khaydarov clarified that the limit was proposed with consideration of projects planned for 2025.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved a strategy for the development of PPPs until 2030. As part of the program, it is planned to transfer the management of electricity grids and gas pipelines to PPPs by 2027, as well as to construct several toll roads, including the Tashkent — Samarkand route.