According to the report of Spot, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced a program to create a “region of advanced innovations” in the Syrdarya region.
The first of five initiatives aimed at improving life in the region was expanded business benefits in priority areas. The second is the specialization of 11 districts and cities of the region by industry based on Chinese experience.
It is planned to create an innovative technopark in each district. It will become a platform for the implementation of projects in the biopharmaceutical, chemical, electrical, food industries, production of silk and building materials.
Technoparks will receive the status of free economic zones. For enterprises in them, the “processing in the customs zone” regime will be applied in a simplified manner.
Industrial buildings on the territory of technoparks will be built according to standard designs and transferred to businesses on an “industrial mortgage”. 200 billion soums will be allocated for their infrastructure.
Investment projects will be financed by a joint fund of Uzbekistan and China. It will attract $1 billion in investments from the Silk Road Fund and other financial institutions.
The President called the introduction of advanced agricultural technologies in the Syrdarya region the third initiative. For this, two consultants from China were invited to the region.
With the help of Chinese investments and experience, it is planned to organize eco-complexes for breeding poultry and cattle. In salt marshes and arid lands, fodder for them will be grown together with leading universities in China.
Intensive plantations of pomegranates, melons, nuts, as well as fish farms will be created in the region. A special technopark will be created for the storage, processing and packaging of fruits and vegetables.
The fourth initiative is the creation of a large logistics hub in the Syrdarya region, the president said. It will connect Uzbekistan with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and China.
Together with Chinese investors, a multimodal logistics center will be built, and new transport routes will be organized. The region will also be the first to introduce a procedure for involving the private sector in road construction.
Mirziyoyev noted that healthcare reforms and the introduction of compulsory medical insurance also began from the Syrdarya. In this regard, the fifth initiative is the creation of a hub of innovative medicine in Gulistan, he pointed out.
An Uzbek-Chinese biotechnology cluster will be created in the region for $500 million. The production of diagnostic equipment, innovative vaccines, probiotics, and drugs for cancer will be launched here.
On the basis of the cluster, it is planned to open a research university, a genomic center for a clinic for innovative medicine and cancer cell therapy. A modern campus for 10,000 students will be built for the university.