Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment: Update

Housing for the Integrated rural Development Investment Program

1. Context

In 2013–2015, incomes increased an average of 21.8% per year in the rural areas, and 26.6% per year in the lowest quintile of household income distribution. the growth was inclusive, and rural income growth was only slightly lower than national income growth. Rising rural incomes will improve the ability to pay for housing loans.¹³³

the rural labor force will continue to grow by about 100,000 yearly,¹³⁴ mostly because of new workers, as well as migrants returning from the Russian Federation.¹³⁵ Rural–urban migration is also increasing; most migrants work in seasonal jobs and informal employment.

In the rural areas, most houses are occupied by extended, multigenerational families. the need to purchase or build a separate house arises when a nuclear family separates from the extended one. the entire larger family usually decides which of the nuclear families will separate first; usually, it is the eldest son’s family. Ideally, each family plans to have separate housing for their children, particularly sons. the culture dictates priorities given by families to housing ownership alongside children’s marriage.

Because most rural houses built during the Soviet period require capital reconstruction and also because basic utilities are inconsistent and unreliable, there is increased awareness that a mortgage loan is a convenient way for many families to improve their living conditions. Building a new house is extremely expensive and time-consuming, particularly regarding resources and

¹³² “the banks shall be given concrete guides and requirements in relation to the types of business projects to be financed; for instance . . . (ii) investments in technological development, export promotion, etc.; requirements to work very closely with business community to identify their real needs, design clear and simplified procedures of providing loans to businesses”. adB. 2017. Promoting inclusive growth through private sector development projects in Central and West Asia. Strengthening knowledge Management in CWA. Manila. p.17.
¹³³ adB. 2016. Report and Recommendation of the president to the Board of directors. affordable Rural Housing program. Manila
¹³⁴ Calculated by adB from data provided by the State Committee on Statistics in 2016 for this CGa update.
¹³⁵ In 2014–2015, over 330,000 migrant workers returned to Uzbekistan. during January–September 2015, remittances sent via money transfer systems decreased by $1.8 billion (59%) compared with the same period in 2014. adB. 2016. Asian Development Bank Outlook. Manila.
46 Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment Update

effort. during the social and gender survey conducted in preparation for the next phase of the development Investment program (HIRdIp) program 2016, many families stated that they would never have been able to accumulate the necessary financial resources and technical capability to build houses similar to those in HIRdIp massifs and then connect them to basic infrastructure.¹³⁶ Quantitative data confirm that basic infrastructure is a key reason to purchase a home in a standard building.¹³⁷

2.