Measures for economic development of regions and increasing incomes of the population were discussed

On August 12, a videoconference meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on measures for the economic development of districts, the introduction of alternative energy sources and the creation of attractive conditions for industrial enterprises, the press service of the head of our state reports.

As is known, our country has established the experience of Saykhunabad, Uychi, Zarbdor and Gijduvan in providing employment and developing entrepreneurship. At the beginning of the meeting, the effectiveness of work in this direction was reviewed.

For example, within the framework of the Saykhunabad experience, the task is to implement 10 micro-projects in each mahalla. Thanks to this, 132 thousand micro-projects have been launched in the republic, providing employment for 242 thousand people. However, in 46 mahallas of 26 districts, the work is slow.

Based on the Uychi experience, which consists of closer work of banks with their clients, 500 thousand new jobs have been created in the republic. However, the result in 15 districts and cities does not meet expectations.

Gijduvan experience is aimed at creating multi-story industrial buildings in a thousand mahallas, Zarbdor experience – at creating driver projects on the ground.

It was emphasized that the experience of these 4 districts is a state policy, and strict measures will be taken against managers who allow delays in their implementation. In general, specific ‘‘KPI’’s will be defined for the responsible persons for each of the experiments, and strict control will be established over their implementation.

The main issues on the agenda of the meeting were the creation of more favorable conditions for entrepreneurs, the specialization of each district and the rational use of energy using the example of the Bukhara region. Members of the government, heads of economic sectors and khokims of other regions also took part in the meeting.

The head of our state visited the Bukhara region on May 31 – June 1. After the trip, the region was allocated 1.4 trillion soums. Today, a resolution was signed on the allocation of an additional 60 million dollars for the development of entrepreneurship and 40 million dollars for the development of infrastructure.

At the meeting, Bukhara’s capabilities were analyzed in five areas.

The first is the development of the service sector.

There are 584 guest houses, 122 catering establishments, 18.5 thousand retail outlets, 30 health and fitness centers in the region. Bukhara cuisine is widely renowned, but the number of canteens and restaurants per thousand residents here is 10 times less than in Samarkand. 103 design organizations and 2,372 construction organizations are not fully involved. It is possible to develop master plans for the regions and place retail and service outlets.

In this regard, a decision was made to develop the service sector in 62 residential areas and on 54 streets of Bukhara. They will specialize in catering, health improvement, hotel business, handicrafts, trade and services. A total of 4 thousand enterprises will be created, providing employment for 6 thousand people.

The head of state supported the proposal to simplify the allocation of land in industrial zones, including for the service sector. From now on, a separate type of loan will be introduced for the purchase of service sector facilities – ‘‘service mortgage’’.

At the meeting, special attention was paid to the issue of rational use of energy. It was noted that Bukhara has the opportunity to save 900 million kilowatts of electricity and 400 million cubic meters of gas. This is 20 percent of the total regional consumption. In particular, by upgrading equipment at 42 large enterprises, it is possible to save up to 25 percent of electricity and gas.

The largest consumer is the Amu-Bukhara Canal. As a result of upgrading the pumps, 200 million kilowatts or 204 billion soums are saved here per year. But this is not enough.

It is indicated that the installation of solar-powered pumping stations with a capacity of 100 megawatts and an energy storage system with a capacity of 100 megawatts at the enterprise will reduce electricity consumption from the general network by 25 percent, and the average daily tariff by 12.5 percent.

It is also possible to install solar panels with a capacity of at least 3 kilowatts on 200 thousand real estate objects and create a capacity of 600 megawatts. This will save another 20 percent of electricity consumption in the region.

In this regard, the Ministry of Energy, responsible persons of the region and districts have been tasked with installing solar panels on 4 thousand objects by the end of the year. It is indicated that it is necessary to expand the possibilities for purchasing panels.

Measures have been defined for the timely delivery of liquefied gas to the population with the wide involvement of the private sector.

In the Bukhara region, 3 large gas chemical complexes, 10 solar and wind power plants are being built. They will require spare parts for 1 billion dollars. However, many enterprises produce the same type of products and do not work on innovations.

The region produces 1.5 million tons of fruits and vegetables. This is 2 times more than Bukhara needs. However, only 11 percent of them are processed, and 30 percent spoil during transportation. The capacity of the four small agro-logistics centers of the region allows processing only 66 thousand tons of products.

In this regard, the President emphasized the need for each district to specialize in industries.

For example, in the Jandar district, about 3 thousand women have sufficient experience in the field of home textiles. In the Vabkent district, grapes, flowers and seedlings are grown using the ‘‘voish’’ method. A new enterprise with a processing capacity of 27 thousand tons of fruits and vegetables has been commissioned in the Bukhara district.

Taking these examples into account, the task has been set to develop a program covering issues of raw materials, infrastructure, personnel and the market, based on the specialization of each district.

Professional personnel are needed to implement these plans and goals. However, in most cases, vocational training is carried out within the existing teaching staff, without taking into account the demand in the labor market and the interests of young people. Only 2 percent of young people study in dual education, cooperation has been established with only 350 out of 30 thousand enterprises in the region. As a result, admission to colleges and technical schools with a capacity of 28 thousand students does not reach 50 percent.

Therefore, educational buildings and premises that are not used at full capacity will be directly leased to entrepreneurs. The funds received will be used to repair buildings and purchase equipment. It was noted that the only condition is to teach young people professions and provide them with work.

The biggest obstacle to work in the regions was named as incompetence in district organizations. ‘‘KPI’’s have not been established for employees, digitalization has not been implemented properly, and there is no training in innovations. In this regard, the ministries have been instructed to put in order the methodology, regulations and digitalization in their systems.

The meeting heard information from the khokims of the Bukhara region and districts, heads of spheres and industries.