Uzbekistan to create new industrial zone
By Aynur Jafarova
A new special industrial zone will be established in Uzbekistan, in accordance with a decree signed by President Islam Karimov.
The Dzizak industrial zone will be created under a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the project that envisions the establishment of an Uzbek-Chinese industrial park in the Central Asian state.
The launching of Dzizak industrial zone, which will have a branch in Syr Darya province, envisages effective utilization of the production and resource potential of Dzizak and Syr Darya provinces, creation of new jobs and increasing the income of the population, the decree says.
The activity of Dzizak industrial zone mainly aims to attract direct investments for launching high-tech and innovative production in order to produce competitive goods for domestic and foreign markets.
The decree envisages localizing the production of high-tech products on the basis of local raw materials, providing for effective use of transport, engineering-communication and social infrastructure in the Dzizak industrial zone.
The Dzizak special industrial zone is to be in operation for 30 years with a possibility of further extension. During this period a special tax regime and customs benefits will be provided depending on the volume of investment.
The administrations of Dzizak and Syr Darya provinces were instructed to provide investors with land acquisitions for the construction of facilities as well as with the necessary permissions to connect to the communications infrastructure networks under the "one-stop-shop" principle.
Dzizak province is located in the center of Uzbekistan, 200 kilometers from the capital Tashkent. The total area of the province is 20,000 square kilometers. Agriculture is developed in the province. Construction materials are the main goods of the local industrial sector.
Currently, two industrial zones, Navoi free industrial and economic zone opened in December 2008, and Angren special industrial zone launched in April 2012, operate in Uzbekistan.