President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation of proposals aimed at improving urbanization and upgrading urban development policy. Among the initiatives, particular attention was given to the country’s first law on urban renovation.
According to the presentation materials, authorities are considering the renewal of outdated housing stock. It was noted that instead of 17,000 buildings constructed in the republic before 1991, modern energy-efficient apartment buildings with required engineering and social infrastructure could be built.
Previously, Senator Erkin Gadoyev reported that Uzbekistan has more than 42,000 apartment buildings (around 1.4 million apartments), of which about 74% were built before 1991, amounting to over 31,000 buildings.
The Presidential Administration emphasized that there had been no unified law regulating renovation processes in the country until now. A draft of a new law has therefore been developed.
The document is expected to define procedures for establishing renovation zones, obtaining residents’ consent, compensation and resettlement rules, as well as responsibilities of investors and state authorities.
In the presentation materials, the law is referred to as a draft. However, according to Justice Minister Akbar Tashkulov in an interview with “Uzbekistan 24”, the document has already been signed by the president.
The implementation of renovation projects is intended to modernize outdated housing stock, upgrade engineering and utility networks, expand green areas, and improve social infrastructure.
The presentation also covered digitalization of urban planning documentation, creation of a unified electronic register of master and general plans, development of shared-equity construction regulations, and introduction of escrow mechanisms to protect homebuyers’ funds.
Authorities link the need for reforms to ongoing urbanization. According to the presentation, more than 50% of Uzbekistan’s population already lives in cities, and this share is expected to continue growing. At the same time, only 2,506 out of 8,604 settlements currently have general plans, or 29%.
Officials also pointed to accumulated issues in the construction sector. In 2025, 1,952 illegal constructions were identified, and nearly 3,000 citizens suffered losses totaling 668 billion soums due to violations in shared-equity housing construction. Against this backdrop, a draft law on shared-equity construction has been developed.
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