Objects worthy of the name of Khorezmi

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in the Khorezm region on May 1 to get acquainted with the development of the region, the life of the population and identify new tasks for the future.

Khorezm has a rich historical and cultural heritage, which makes the region attractive for tourism. In recent years, thanks to economic growth, the number of business visits has also increased. However, the current infrastructure of Urgench International Airport does not meet the increased demands of local residents and guests. Its capacity is limited - no more than 400 passengers per hour, which hinders the development of air traffic.

During the visit, the head of state was presented with information about the project to modernize the airport and transfer it to management.

The open tender, announced on August 1, 2024, was held in two stages and brought together eight companies from France, South Korea, Turkey, Qatar and other countries. By decision of the interdepartmental tender commission, the South Korean company Incheon International Airport Corporation was recognized as the winner.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a conversation with the management of the company and the project.

The president of the corporation noted that Incheon Airport is the third in the world in terms of capacity and one of the leaders in service quality. Urgench will become the second airport managed by the company. He shared plans for its renewal and effective management.

The head of state expressed satisfaction with the prospect of cooperation with such an advanced company and expressed ideas for expanding the mutually beneficial partnership.

—Modern hotels, recreation areas and shopping centers are being actively built in Khorezm. We have set a goal to increase the tourist flow to 5 million people. If the airport corresponds to these scales, it will bring mutual benefits and increased income, the President emphasized.

The issues of attracting additional airliners in cooperation with foreign airlines and expanding passenger traffic were also discussed. The President noted the need to adopt South Korean experience in the service sector, as well as train and improve the skills of domestic specialists in this area.

The total cost of the project is 223 million US dollars. The project includes the construction of a new runway, passenger and cargo terminals, installation of modern lighting systems in accordance with ICAO standards, as well as the purchase of specialized equipment.

Construction and reconstruction work is scheduled to be completed in 2025–2027. After modernization, the airport will be able to accommodate large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A350. The total area of ​​the new terminal will be 39 thousand square meters, and its capacity will increase to 1,300 passengers per hour.

Thus, Urgench airport will become one of the most convenient air hubs, contributing to the growth of the attractiveness of Khorezm for foreign tourists and the development of the country's aviation industry as a whole.

The concept of the future terminal was also presented. The President gave recommendations on how to reflect the national color in the external and internal appearance of the building.

During the visit, the head of state also spoke with journalists. It was emphasized that the purpose of the visit to Khorezm is to identify new frontiers of development, increase economic indicators, improve the living conditions of more than 2 million residents of the region, create jobs and increase the income of the population.

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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev inspected the progress of construction of the town of Al-Khorezmi.

The head of state laid the first stone for the foundation of this town in August 2022. Over the past period, utility networks have been laid and 72 apartment buildings with 1,773 apartments have been put into operation. This year it is planned to build another 28 houses, designed for 1 thousand apartments. In total, the town will have more than 5 thousand housing units.

The town is being built on an area of ​​over 130 hectares, near the Urgench international airport. It is this modern and well-appointed complex that will be the first thing that guests will see when arriving by plane. A majestic monument to the great scientist al-Khorezmi will be erected in the central part of the town.

The concept of the monument was presented to the President.

The monument will be installed at the entrance to a park of 20 hectares being created within the town. Its height will be 22 meters, and together with the pedestal - more than 30 meters.

The responsible persons were given instructions to improve the design of the monument both from an architectural and content point of view, as well as to expand the green areas in the town.

The day before, the President signed a decree on the organization of Al-Khorezmi University and a specialized school attached to it. The university will have three faculties: mathematics and computer science, aerospace engineering and artificial intelligence. The educational process will be organized based on the experience of the New Uzbekistan University in collaboration with leading higher education institutions of the UAE, China, and Great Britain. The start of student admission is planned for the 2025–2026 academic year. The total number of students will be about 4–6 thousand people.

A branch of the Tashkent school named after Muhammad al-Khorezmi will also be opened on the territory of the town. Graduates of 4th grade will be selected for it. The final two years of study will focus on initial engineering training.

In addition, a technology park and office buildings, medical and cultural centers, alleys, schools and kindergartens, sports complexes, shopping and household facilities will be created in the town of Al-Khorezmi.

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During a trip to the Khorezm region, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited a new small industrial zone for the production of furniture created in the Khankin district.

Such industrial zones are created in accordance with the decree of the head of state dated June 21, 2021 on the development of the furniture industry in areas with high potential.

Khankinsky district has long been famous for its furniture craftsmen. Today, more than 140 entrepreneurs work in this direction, and small workshops operate in more than 500 houses. Until recently, many of them worked in cramped and uncomfortable conditions.

In this regard, 10 hectares of land were allocated and a small industrial zone was created, including the production of furniture on a cluster basis, as well as exhibition and retail space. 61 enterprises began operating here with a total investment of $10 million. 650 jobs were created.

The enterprises installed modern equipment delivered from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and China. The capacity allows us to annually produce furniture for homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, shopping and social facilities worth 108 billion soums.

The President inspected the production process in the workshops. He noted the need to make maximum use of the growing pace of construction in the Khorezm region - the construction of housing, hotels, buildings and structures - to generate orders for enterprise products and localize new types of products.

A training center for training designers and technologists was also created in the small industrial zone, which attracted qualified specialists from Turkey.

During the conversation with them, the President discussed issues of improving the quality of production and qualifications youth in this area.

It is planned that products produced here will be supplied to foreign markets. It is expected that the export volume will exceed $3 million.

Another important feature is attention to energy efficiency: solar panels are installed at all enterprises.

The head of state examined the product samples presented in the showroom and highly appreciated their quality and design.

In general, furniture production in the Khorezm region is carried out by over 300 enterprises. More than 200 entrepreneurs work individually, and over 1.3 thousand people are self-employed.

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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Sobirjon Yusuf farm in the Khankinsky district.

Its head - 73-year-old Oyimzhon Otazhanova devoted more than forty years of her life to the business of growing seedlings. Fruit and ornamental trees are grown on three hectares of farm land, and another two hectares are allocated for gardening. In addition, seedlings of about 40 types of flowers are grown in a greenhouse with an area of ​​12 acres. The greenhouse is equipped with modern water-saving technologies, and in each of its sections the necessary microclimatic conditions are created depending on the type and characteristics of the plants.

The hardworking woman also involved her family members in this business. Every year, over 50 thousand seedlings are grown and sold here, generating an income of more than one billion soums per year.

It is especially noteworthy that the seedlings grown on this farm are supplied not only to neighboring areas, but also abroad - to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

In the Guliston mahalla, where the garden is located, people live more than 7 thousand people. Oimjon-she has become a model of hard work for young people and women, actively promoting their employment. She trained more than 200 students, 300 unemployed people were trained in the basics of growing seedlings. Cooperation has been established with neighbors in the mahalla.

Exhibiting civic activity, a dedicated farmer this year donated 2 thousand pine seedlings to all schools and kindergartens in the district, making her contribution to the Yashil Makon project and the improvement of the country.

Together with the Ministry of Employment and the bank A training center has been opened on the adjacent site, where, based on farm experience, they teach how to use personal plots to generate income all year round. This contributes to the expansion of entrepreneurship in mahallas and additional income for families.

Taking into account her merits, hard work and example for the younger generation, the President decided to award Oyimzhon Otazhanova with the honorary title “Honored Worker of Agriculture of Uzbekistan.”

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With the growing activity of the population and the rapid development of tourism in the Khorezm region, transport services are also being improved. For this purpose, the Bunyod Yolovchi Tashish enterprise is purchasing 80 modern buses worth almost $8 million. To date, 50 of them have already been delivered.

During a trip to the region, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the conditions created for the convenience of the population.

The new buses meet Euro-5 environmental standards and are designed for 70 passengers. Due to their low floor level, they are suitable for older people and people with disabilities. Buses are equipped with Wi-Fi and video surveillance systems. Citizens are satisfied with such comfortable public transport.

If previously each small-sized bus transported 200-300 people a day, the new bus serves up to 1,000 passengers. Traffic intervals were reduced by half - to 5-12 minutes, which made it possible to increase the level of use of public transport in the city of Urgench to 38 percent.

The main thing is that improved conditions help eliminate the shortage of transport and reduce congestion on the streets, ensuring the free movement of citizens.

To cover areas poorly provided with public transport, it is planned to supply 30 more in the near future buses.

The head of state gave instructions to effectively connect areas with the public transport system, make routes more convenient, pay attention to road repairs, improve the qualifications of drivers and improve the quality of technical service. It was noted that all this is an important factor for extending the service life of buses.

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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with domestically produced cars and inspected the electrified Urgench - Khiva railway.

To date The Bukhara-Urgench-Khiva railway, 465 kilometers long, is fully electrified, protective fences are installed along it, and engineering structures are built. For this route, 6 high-speed electric trains from Hyundai Rotem will be purchased from South Korea. Starting next year, they will run on the Tashkent-Khiva route under the name “Jaloliddin Manguberdy”.

As ​​a result, the railway will be able to serve more than 3 million passengers per year. If now the journey from Tashkent to Khiva takes 14 hours, then electric trains will reduce travel time to 7 hours 40 minutes.

Freight transportation capacity will increase to 6 million tons, while now this figure is 1 million tons.

Based on the Presidential decree of October 10, 2023 on the radical During the reform of railway transport, the fleet of wagons is being actively renewed. In particular, $50 million from the Reconstruction and Development Fund is aimed at strengthening the carriage industry. In the first quarter of this year, the first 10 passenger cars were built.

The head of state got acquainted with the conditions created in the new cars.

Over the next two years, it is planned to increase the number of passenger cars to 70 units and gradually abandon outdated models. This will allow an additional transport of more than 1 million passengers per year.

The President traveled on a new train from Urgench to Khiva along with representatives of the public. On the way, he observed the landscaping along the route and the seedlings planted along the edges of the fields.

Last year, as part of the Yashil Makon national project, about 10 million trees and shrubs were planted in the Khorezm region. Large industrial enterprises have also created their own green belts.

This spring, the scale of farming was also expanded: more than 1,100 hectares along fields and canals were sown with profitable crops. Entrepreneurs are guaranteed to purchase products. Through the Agroko‘makchi mobile application, the population is provided with information about available plots.

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The work to unlock the tourism potential of the region is yielding noticeable results in the Khorezm region. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that the number of foreign tourists visiting the region has increased 30 times compared to seven to eight years ago. Thanks to positive changes in the industry, the region's tourism exports grew from $7 million in 2017 to $380 million last year.

Previously, when speaking about tourism in the region, most people thought only of Ichan-Kala. However, in recent years, this idea has changed: more than forty new tourist routes have been developed, and their total number has reached one hundred.

Now another unique object has appeared here - the Arda Khiva tourist complex, the opening of which became an important event as part of the President’s trip to the Khorezm region.

The complex is a city inside an ancient city. It is a unique project with an architectural solution that combines historical motifs and modern forms.

The center was built on 25 hectares of previously unproductive and saline land. One of the sides of the complex overlooks Lake Govuk with an area of 150 hectares, around which green areas are formed - this makes the location even more attractive for tourists.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev walked through the territory of the complex, inspected construction sites, exhibitions of folk crafts and decorative arts, as well as the rows of the oriental bazaar.

All conditions have been created for tourists here. 20 hotels in the style of the ancient city with a total capacity of 1 thousand beds were built, a water park, attractions, an amphitheater with 3 thousand seats and a musical fountain were opened.

In addition, guests will be interested in 11 craft houses in a historical style, an eastern market and the Ancient Urgench Museum. Another highlight is the possibility of gondola rides along the two-kilometer canal.

The complex also includes five cinemas and concert halls, many restaurants, a jewelry center, shopping arcades, a jet ski area and ample parking. A unified heating and cooling system has been created for all facilities. Electricity is provided by solar panels.

The complex is designed to receive up to 3 million visitors a year, more than 2 thousand people will be employed here.

If Ichan-Kala is the historical face of Khiva, then Arda Khiva becomes its modern calling card.

On the territory of the complex, the head of state is also talked with the youth of Khorezm.

— Any natural resources are depleted over time. But our ancestors left us the greatest spiritual heritage and great monuments that have served the people for centuries. We must use this wealth for the benefit of the country. Much has already been done, but there are still more challenges ahead. I believe in you, young people. If you strive to the top, gain knowledge and master modern professions, we will definitely achieve our goals, noted President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

During the conversation, the successes of young people in their studies, their dreams and aspirations were discussed.

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Took place in the city of Khiva opening ceremony of the international tourist center "Arda Khiva". In his speech, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted the great past of Khorezm and its rapidly growing tourism potential.

– Khorezm is truly the pearl of the East, it has made an invaluable contribution to the development of world civilization and culture. This ancient region is the homeland of world-famous scientists and thinkers, generals and rulers, theologians, talented poets and hafizsaid the head of state.

It was especially emphasized that the magnificent historical monuments of the region are a real treasure. The open-air city-museum - the architectural ensemble of Ichan-Kala - is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are more than 260 cultural heritage sites in the region, each of which, with its unique architecture, represents the living history of not only Uzbekistan, but also the entire Central Asia.

Based on this rich heritage, the development of tourism is designated as one of the strategic directions. Historical monuments and cultural heritage sites are carefully preserved and actively integrated into the global tourism industry.

At the same time, large-scale projects are being implemented that combine history and modernity. The new Arda Khiva complex is another result of such large-scale plans. On its territory there are 17 hotels and guest houses, 9 restaurants, outdoor and indoor water parks, an amphitheater with 3 thousand seats, 5 cinema and concert halls, exhibition pavilions, 70 shops, 300 shopping arcades, 11 craft houses, an oriental bazaar, a jewelry center, fountains and a promenade.

Thanks to this, it is expected the influx of another 1 million tourists per year, the volume of services provided will increase by 1.2 trillion soums, and the number of new jobs will be at least 2 thousand.

– I am convinced that “Arda Khiva” will open a new page in the development of tourism in Khorezm and will become its second “calling card”. Taking this opportunity, I express my sincere gratitude to entrepreneurs and investors, builders and specialists, everyone who made a worthy contribution to this noble causesaid the President.

During the ceremony, another piece of news was also presented: 2.4 thousand hectares of land in the Khiva region were transferred to the city of Khiva, where a new tourist complex “Sakhro Yulduzi” (“Star of the Desert”) will be built. It will house hotels, entertainment centers, gastronomic and shopping streets, museums, eco-houses, summer camps and areas for extreme tourism.

Also in the Tuprakkala region, safari and hunting tourism will be developed on the territory of 5 thousand hectares of steppe. Along the banks of the Gazavat, Palvan and Shavat canals, flowing through the Urgench, Shavat, Koshkupyr, Khiva and Khazorasp districts, 80 service, trade and entertainment facilities worth $50 million will be organized. Tourist villages will be created in Bagatsky, Gurlensky, Yangibazarsky and Urgenchsky districts.

In front of the building of the Mamun Academy, on an area of ​​2 hectares, a “smart” open-air museum “Great Thinkers” will be created. Here, in an interactive form and in several foreign languages, tourists will be presented with the rich spiritual heritage and life path of dozens of outstanding ancestors who glorified Khorezm.

The President especially noted that Khorezm and Karakalpakstan are two peoples, united by nature and destiny, and the development of tourism in the region will be carried out on the basis of a single concept and in a close relationship between the two regions. For this purpose, a project for the tourist ring “Khorezm – Karakalpakstan” will be developed, and the Urgench – Gurlen – Mangyt highway will be completely reconstructed.

In recent years, a railway has been connected to the city of Khiva, a new station has been built, and the Bukhara - Urgench - Khiva line has been fully electrified. From 2026, modern high-speed trains called “Jaloliddin Manguberdy” will begin running on this route. In the future, such trains will run to Nukus.

Speaking at the ceremony, the President also warmly greeted foreign guests and expressed respect and good wishes to partner countries.

– Today, despite the difficult situation in the world, Uzbekistan is firmly following its own path. Our people live in an atmosphere of peace and prosperity, friendship and cooperation, in the spirit of creation. All our goals and plans, every reform are aimed at improving people's lives, and we will steadily continue this work. I am convinced that together with you, my dears, by working selflessly, we will transform Khorezm and Karakalpakstan into one of the most beautiful and comfortable regions in the world, where science and innovation, culture and art are developed,said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The ceremony ended with a large festive concert.

Official website of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan