On September 19-20 this year, the Government Commission for the Development of Export and Investment headed by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov and involving the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations, commercial banks, and local authorities summed up the work on the review of investment, industrial and export opportunities of the regions and the development of priority measures to comprehensively use the existing economic potential of Andijan and Namangan regions. The relevant working groups worked off-site in these regions from September 15 to 20. There also was an analysis of progress in the execution of instructions given during the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Fergana region in June this year.

During the work, they visited enterprises in Andijan region and reviewed the state of all 7,914 industrial facilities, and 6,098 facilities in Namangan region.

This resulted in the identification of 1,105 enterprises faced with problems in operational procedures, including the need for lending resources to replenish working capital and purchase engineering equipment, the need to connect to engineering communications, a lack of raw materials for production, difficulties in obtaining permits and licenses, the allocation of land plots, the return of previously paid VATs, the repayment of receivables and the restructuring of payments on previously received loans.

In order to promptly resolve the problems identified, each enterprise in both regions received the assigned heads of the relevant industry departments and associations, commercial banks, khokimiyats of districts and cities of the region responsible for the implementation of targeted measures to support and accelerate the bringing of production facilities to design capacity within specified time.

The members of working groups revised regional investment programs of the two regions. They selected the most promising economically investment projects characterized by high rates of production, exports and the number of jobs created. The implementation of these projects will be accelerated in order to put them into operation by the end of this year.

The regional investment program for Andijan region includes 994 investment projects worth UZS 21.3 trillion. After the optimization, the commissioning dates for 17 projects worth UZS 167 billion were postponed from 2021 to 2020. At the same time, the implementation of 13 projects worth UZS 75 billion was postponed to 2021.

The program for Namangan region provides 1,994 projects worth UZS 25 trillion. The revision of the program for 2020 resulted in postponement of 95 projects worth UZS 1.8 trillion. At the same time, the commissioning of 153 projects worth UZS 1.7 trillion was shifted to 2021.

In addition, the Government Commission developed a number of projects aimed at import substitution of products that are widely demanded in local markets and used by domestic industrial enterprises.

The current localization program for Andijan region provides the implementation of 226 projects. Members of the Government Commission developed 212 new promising projects to add it. Namangan region formed and included 42 new projects to the localization program. In total, the implementation of these projects will provide an increase in the production of import-substituting products amounted to USD 230.5 million.

The Government Commission comprehensively reviewed the operation of Andijon-Pharm free economic zone and 11 operating small industrial zones in Andijan region. There is a package including 133 investment projects totaling UZS 101.8 billion providing the creation of about 2.3 thousand new jobs. Within 2020-2021, UZS 196.5 billion will be allocated to meet the needs of small industrial zones of Andijan region in engineering communications. Members of the Commission proposed creation of 10 new small industrial zones in the region more.

Small industrial zones of Namangan region implement 201 projects worth UZS 969.9 billion. 189 of them worth UZS 819.1 billion will be launched this year, including the creation of 6.8 thousand new jobs. In this region, UZS 23.1 billion will be allocated to provide 18 existing and new small industrial zones with the connection to sewerage, gas, electricity and water supply networks.

There was a through work on the review of value chains existing in these regions and measures for their development. To do this, Andijan region identified priority areas of economic growth, in particular, the textile sector, silkworm breeding, pharmaceutical, food, leather and footwear industries, as well as proposals to create 32 scientific and industrial clusters in these areas, which will implement completed production cycles.

Namangan region similarly developed proposals to create 18 similar clusters in the production of construction materials, textile, pharmaceutical, and leather and footwear industries.

Uzstandart agency will take measures to create test laboratories and centers for training, retraining and advanced training of workers in the created industrial clusters in Andijan and Namangan regions.

The measures developed during the work of the Government Commission in Namangan region will increase the annual industrial output up to UZS 11.4 trillion with an increase by UZS 823 billion or 107% as related to the forecast indicators, will create 37.8 thousand new jobs, and provide revenues to the budget amounted to UZS 1.7 trillion, namely 106.3% of the approved indicators.

In Andijan region, this year's industrial output will be increased to UZS 36.4 trillion, which will be 104.5% of the forecast indicators. There will be 29.3 thousand new jobs created, and the inflow of revenues to the budget will be UZS 2.0 trillion (125 % of the approved forecast).

The General Prosecutor's Office will regularly monitor the quality and timely execution of the planned activities. The Government Commission will consider the progress of programs developed on separate meeting on a monthly basis.

On September 20 this year, the members of the Commission separately worked in Fergana region. There was an analysis of the progress in implementing the plan of practical measures to accelerate the development of industry, organize industrial clusters, as well as localize production developed during the visit of the Commission in August this year.

They reviewed in details the implementation of 173 planned measures, which revealed a lag in resolving some of the issues of entrepreneurs related to the repayment of accounts receivable, the allocation of credit resources, the need to return previously paid value added tax, connection to utilities and the receipt of necessary permits.

In this regard, the responsible heads of the relevant ministries, departments and commercial banks responsible received instructions to come to Fergana region to closely cooperate with entrepreneurs and take measures to fully solve existing problems. 

The regional program for 2020 provides implementation of 697 projects worth UZS 6.9 trillion in Fergana region, which will create about 20.6 thousand new jobs. Here, the members identified some unresolved issues related to the allocation of loans. The heads of commercial banks received instructions to carefully review every case and take measures to provide financial assistance to the initiators of investment projects.

It is planned to create 47 new high-tech industries, which will be combined into 26 industrial clusters in order to develop industrial cooperation and create complete value chains in the region. The analysis of work in this area identified lags in the implementation of the planned measures in a number of clusters in the food, electrical, silk and furniture industries. Responsible heads of sectoral departments, top officials of local authorities, and commercial banks received instructions to solve issues within a specific period of time.

Localization areas identified similar issues. In August, the Commission developed 42 additional import-substituting projects amounted to UZS 132.6 billion. From them, it was planned to implement 23 projects by the end of 2020. It should be noted that the commissioning of 62 projects included in the regional localization program provided the manufacture of import-substituting products worth UZS 323.6 billion from January to August 2020, which exceeded the approved indicators by 1.5 times.

Separately, the members of the Commission considered the increase in the efficiency of using the potential of free economic and small industrial zones of Fergana region, with most of them related to the funding of the development of engineering infrastructure and connecting the subjects of FEZ and SIZ to sewerage, gas, electricity and water supply networks.

In general, full implementation of the measures outlined during the work of the Government Commission in Fergana region will result in bringing the industrial output to UZS 2.4 trillion by the end of this year, which will be 103% of the forecast indicators, as well as the creation of 16 thousand new jobs. At the same time, tax deductions from industrial enterprises by the end of this year will grow to UZS 2.6 trillion amounting to 118% of the approved forecast.

The Government Commission will continue to regularly monitor the implementation of the approved measures in order to ensure the maximum efficiency of the work in the regions and provide effective support to entrepreneurs and industrial enterprises, initiators of investment projects and exporters in all regions of the Republic.