Uzbekistan Delivers 11,000 Student Dorm Beds via PPP

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan brought 11,084 student dormitory beds online in 2025 through public-private partnerships, reaching roughly 91% of its annual target, parliament heard during budget execution discussions on June 3.

The figures were presented to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis by deputies and representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. Against a planned 12,215 beds across PPP-financed dormitory projects, 20 facilities were actually commissioned — a delivery rate of approximately 90.7%.

First Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Sardor Rajabov was direct in ruling out budget shortfalls as the cause of the gap. "The implementation of projects is not related to a lack of budget funds, since construction is carried out by entrepreneurs under PPP arrangements," he told lawmakers. Six dormitories accounting for 5,900 beds were rolled over to 2026, with Rajabov indicating they remain on track for completion before the start of the next academic year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov used the discussion to press a broader governance point, emphasising the need for a target indicator system to measure state agency performance — one that evaluates outcomes achieved, not merely funds spent.

Kuchkarov characterised the PPP dormitory programme as producing positive results overall, attributing delays on specific facilities to adjustments within projects being co-implemented with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He expressed confidence that outstanding targets would be met in 2026.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance reported that 276 billion soums were allocated to student dormitory construction in 2025. Looking further ahead, a long-term PPP programme involving international financial institutions envisages the construction of dormitories providing 17,000 beds in Tashkent alone — a figure that signals the scale of demand Uzbekistan's rapidly expanding higher education sector continues to generate.

The dormitory push comes against a backdrop of chronic student housing shortages in previous years, a gap that authorities are now narrowing through a combination of private capital, multilateral financing, and state budget allocations.