President Mirziyoyev chairs meeting on Sergeli district development

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, chaired a video selector meeting focusing on the socioeconomic development of Tashkent, specifically the Sergeli district, as well as the creation of a safe environment in mahallas.

Opening the meeting, the head of state noted the large-scale changes that have occurred in the district in recent years. According to him, until recently, Sergeli was considered the outskirts of the capital, with residents forced to travel to the city center for work, income, recreation, and medical services. Today, the situation has changed radically: over ten years, residential buildings containing 30,000 apartments have been built here, along with industrial, commercial, and service facilities with a total area of 2 million square meters.

The number of entrepreneurs grew from 2,500 to 6,200, and budget revenues increased from 382 billion to 2.2 trillion soums, representing a 5.5-fold increase. Five large recreation zones and parks, and 50 public and private clinics have been opened; the number of school places increased from 25,000 to 38,500, and places in kindergartens grew from 7,500 to 15,500. Due to the annexation of 13 mahallas from the Tashkent region, the district's territory expanded by 1,800 hectares and reached 5,600 hectares. A 9-kilometer road and a new metro line with 8 stations were also constructed.

At the same time, preliminary results of the population census revealed the true scale of the demographic load: while previously the number of district residents was stated at 181,000 people, the census results show that approximately 236,000 people actually reside here. In the coming years, the population of Sergeli is projected to exceed 300,000 people. In connection with this, the president emphasized the need to form a clear plan right now to scale up housing construction and expand the network of kindergartens, schools, clinics, and jobs.

For the development of the district this year, 173 billion soums have been allocated from the budget, and another 2.2 trillion soums of resources have been provided through banks. The district khokim was tasked with achieving a 2- to 3-fold increase in added value. In the capital as a whole, investment projects worth US$9 billion are scheduled for implementation in 2026. In the Sergeli district, US$236 million has already been attracted over five months; by the end of the year, it is planned to attract another US$750 million through the launch of 60 new projects.

One of the pressing issues at the meeting was the utilization of space beneath the elevated metro lines. The experience already being implemented in Sergeli involves the following scheme: the state puts the land-use rights up for auction, prepares the project and infrastructure, and entrepreneurs handle the construction of facilities. If this approach is applied to another 8.5 km of the metro line in the district, 137 commercial and service facilities and 1,000 to 1,500 jobs will appear, and the district budget will be replenished with an additional 20 to 25 billion soums. Overall, along the 23-kilometer elevated section of the metro passing through the Yashnabad, Sergeli, and Yangihayot districts, an additional 400 entrepreneurs will be able to open businesses and create 3,000 jobs.

The president also pointed to remaining infrastructure problems. More than 50,000 people live in the 13 mahallas incorporated into the district from the Tashkent region six years ago, yet residents still do not fully experience an urban environment. Responsible officials were instructed to launch the street lighting system within a ten-day period and to fully connect these mahallas to the sewerage network by the end of the year.

Over five years, the annual demand for electricity in the district grew by 40% — in a number of mahallas, the grid voltage is 1.5 to 2 times below the norm. A total of 107 billion soums has been allocated for the commissioning of the Shakharoldi, Uzgarish, and Kumarik substations; responsible parties were instructed to launch the facilities within the established deadlines.

Residents of the Sergeli and Yangihayot districts are also concerned by an unpleasant odor coming from a water treatment facility. Instructions were given to install modern filtering devices at the wastewater reception facility by 1 September 2026. Starting next year, the construction of a new water treatment facility with a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters will begin in the Kuyichirchik district together with partners from the UAE, which will significantly reduce the load on the Sergeli facility.

In the sphere of transport and road infrastructure, road safety management is being reorganized across 23 km of the district's main streets in 2026: 455 smart traffic lights will be installed at intersections, 150 bus stops will be upgraded, and 10,000 parking spaces will be created. In 2027, the construction of a 5.5-kilometer dedicated BRT lane with access to Shota Rustaveli Street is planned on Yangi Sergeli Street.

A project for constructing a new type of school was also presented at the meeting, which allows for doubling the number of student places by locating the sports hall, canteen, and workshop in the basement and using the upper floors for classrooms. Instructions were given to implement this approach in one school and one kindergarten in each district of the capital. Furthermore, work has begun to create 12 artificial lakes in Tashkent; three of them, covering an area of 22 hectares, will appear in the Sergeli district — in the Kushkurgan, Sultonobod, and Farogatli mahallas. Along the 5-kilometer Jun canal, instructions were given to organize a walking zone and a health trail by the end of the year.

Since the beginning of the year, approximately 3 million foreign tourists have visited Tashkent. To improve conditions for guests of the capital, instructions were given to introduce free digital maps with city routes at bus stops, railway stations, the airport, and metro stations, and to develop a program within a month to build 15 to 20 modern public toilets in each district.

The issue of public safety was also reviewed at the meeting. Over six months, no crimes were recorded in 230 mahallas of the capital, crime significantly decreased in 332, and the number of mahallas with a concerning crime situation dropped from 60 to 23. The Sergeli district showed one of the best results in the city: 29 previously troubled mahallas moved into the "green" category, and no crimes were committed at all in 17 mahallas. The president instructed to replicate the experience of preventive work from the Uzgarish mahalla, transfer the remaining 46 mahallas of the district into the "green" category, reduce the shadow economy, and implement new approaches in working with youth.