Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In the free economic zone "Jizzakh", within the framework of the project "Organization of production of fiber-optic communication cables", the ceremony of laying the foundation for a new production site of the Joint Venture "Global Optical Communication Uzbekistan" (JV "GOC-UZ ") was held.

The event was attended by Deputy Minister for Development of Information Technologies and Communications Jamol Makhsudov, Deputy Khokim of Jizzakh Region Akram Rakhmonkulov, representatives of the free economic zone "Jizzakh", foreign investors JV "GOC-UZ" LLC, management and employees of a construction company, media representatives.

Deputy Minister for Development of Information Technologies and Communications Jamol Makhsudov spoke at the ceremony:

- On 22 September, chaired by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a video conference was held on the implementation of the digital economy and e-government in industries and regions. At this meeting, our President noted that "without the digital economy, the country’s economy has no future."

Today digital technologies are rapidly penetrating all areas of human life. Countries that have embarked on the path of digital development in a timely manner are making progress, while those countries that are operating in the old way are lagging behind progress. As you know, 2020 has been declared in our country as the Year of Science, Education and Development of the Digital Economy, and large-scale work has begun in this direction. In particular, on 28v, the President signed a decree "On measures for the widespread introduction of the digital economy and electronic government."

The head of state has repeatedly noted the need to digitize, first of all, those areas that people encounter most often, and thus make life easier for citizens. Based on this requirement, the working groups prepared 530 regional and 280 sectoral projects. In particular, 239 projects for the digitalization of healthcare, cadastre, social protection, agriculture, education will be implemented in 14 districts by the end of this year and in another 14 districts in the first quarter of next year.

But we all understand perfectly well that without modern, reliable and high-speed networks, there is no telecommunications, and there can be no e-government or digital economy.

It is in front of us - communications workers that the main task is to provide the country with high-speed Internet and modern telecommunication networks, creating a reliable technological foundation for introducing the digital economy into everyday life.

The new production enterprise "GOC-UZ" not only solves the issues of providing the telecommunications infrastructure of Uzbekistan with products that were previously purchased for foreign currency, but will also provide jobs for up to 100 people, including graduates of professional colleges in the city of Jizzakh.

The joint venture "Global Optical Communication Uzbekistan", specializing in the production of fiber-optic communication cables, was created in 2019 by JSC "Uzbektelecom" jointly with the South Korean companies "Global Optical Communication Co. Ltd." and Uni Asset Global Co. Ltd".

The authorized capital of the joint venture is US$11 million, including the share of South Korean companies is 55 percent, or US$6.05 million, the share of Uzbektelecom is 45 percent, or US$4.95 million.

At the first stage in 2020, the building of the Global Optical Communication Uzbekistan JV in the Jizzakh free economic zone is equipped with modern equipment from Korean, Japanese and Chinese companies and will produce finished products. Currently, the plant employs Korean specialists. The production of fiber-optic communication cables based on Korean technology has been mastered. In 2020, the company will produce 10 thousand kilometers of fiber-optic communication cables at the existing production facilities.

Within the framework of the implementation of the second stage of the project “Organization of production of fiber-optic communication cables” in the free economic zone “Jizzakh”, the Joint Venture “Global Optical Communication Uzbekistan” (JV “GOC-UZ” LLC) attracted credit funds from the Korean Eximbank (Korea “Eximbank”) in the amount of US$3.6 million. Completion of construction is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

After putting into operation a new production line of the JV "GOC-UZ", the enterprise will produce up to 50 thousand kilometers of fiber-optic communication lines both for telecommunication networks of Uzbekistan and for export. At the first stage, the level of localization of production will be 32 percent, and at the second stage - 60 percent.

The development of Uzbekistan’s digital economy requires a modern high-speed and reliable telecommunications network. Today, Uzbekistan is actively switching from copper to fiber-optic communication lines, which not only ensures the reliability and speed of telecommunication networks, but also improves their quality.