Harnessing Uzbekistan’s Potential of Urbanization

Part II: Government Policies and Programs
Policy orientations support urbanization and urban development, however, institutional capacity is low. 
In 2017, the new government identified accelerating urbanization as an important part of its reform agenda, 
targeting 60% by 2030, together with a more balanced regional development pattern and free territorial mobility. 
The 2019 Presidential Decree on Urbanization laid the foundation for a new generation of urban policies.
To pursue their implementation, the Agency for Urbanization was subsequently created under the Ministry of 
Economic Development and Poverty Reduction. A year later, the ministry was replaced by the Department for 
the Implementation of Urbanization Policies. Unclear coordination mechanism continues to exist among line 
ministries. Institutional capacity for moving forward the process of urbanization is currently low.
Reforms and investments are progressing in many critical areas. Some advances have been made in fiscal 
decentralization in favor of municipalities. A law and an agency for public–private partnerships were established. 
Housing finance reform is underway, which could boost access to credit by households, with a greater 
involvement of the private sector. A neighborhood upgrading program was established and initially financed. 
Progress has been made in the institutional reforms of the agencies managing water supply and sanitation, solid 
waste, and energy generation and distribution; and investments have supported such reforms. The government 
also works to improve district heating, gas distribution, and pollution management. However, land privatization 
has just started and implementation capacity to execute urban sector reforms is a challenge. Most recently,
a new Cadaster Agency was established under the State Tax Committee.
Multilateral institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, support Uzbekistan’s urban development. 
A number of international financial institutions (IFIs), in addition to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), are 
working with the government in the urban sector, under loans and grants of nearly $3.0 billion to date. Of its 

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Executive Summary
$7.5 billion of total lending to the country, ADB has invested $950 million in urban infrastructure and is preparing 
its first integrated urban development project for approval in 2022. The World Bank, the second-largest provider 
of international finance, is also present in the urban sector and supporting integrated approaches, institutional 
capacity building, and analytical work. Following its Strategy 2030 Operational Plan for Priority 4: Making Cities 
More Livable, ADB will implement urban sustainability programs and projects that will support Uzbek cities to 
become competitive, green and resilient, equitable, and inclusive.