Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A video conference meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to discuss the outcomes of the mortgage program implementation in 2024 and plans for 2025.

In the past year, 2,044 multi-story buildings were constructed, providing homes for over 100,000 families. The residential space per capita increased from 16 square meters in 2020 to 19 square meters in 2024.

A total of 21.4 million square meters of residential space and 19.1 million square meters of non-residential buildings were constructed in Uzbekistan in 2024, amounting to 40.5 million square meters of buildings and structures.

The construction of 100,000 new homes in the previous year created jobs for 350,000 people in industries such as contracting, management and services, construction materials, and transportation. Additional markets worth 11 trillion soums opened in sectors like furniture manufacturing, electrical engineering, textiles, and building materials.

To stimulate construction, 17 trillion soums in mortgage loans were allocated in 2024, and 3 trillion soums were provided to construction companies and developers for working capital.

Therefore, the president emphasized that khokims (local governors) should view housing construction not only as a social or construction issue but as the primary "driver" of regional economic development.

The meeting noted that not all khokims fully understand the importance of construction for the country’s economy and citizens’ well-being.

It was reported that in cities like Tashkent, Navoi, Bukhara, Khorezm, and Samarkand, housing construction projects were well-organized. However, work on housing complexes under the "New Uzbekistan" program failed to meet expectations.

In regions like Karakalpakstan, Jizzakh, and Syrdarya, infrastructure work and collaboration with contractors were neglected. In Khorezm, construction had not started on 98 land plots, in Bukhara on 65 plots, in Jizzakh on 19 plots, and in Navoi on 12 plots that were purchased at auctions.

Some homes have remained unsold for over a year due to their location far from population centers and infrastructure, rendering them unwanted.

A new system will be implemented for "New Uzbekistan" housing complexes. Design work on land plots for these projects must be completed within two months, and construction must start within three months. If these deadlines are not met, the land will be returned, and the plot will be re-auctioned.

Organizations failing to complete project expertise within 15 days will lose their licenses.

The construction sector will introduce an "escrow" system, allowing developers to attract funds at lower interest rates. Importantly, financing for developers will begin alongside the start of housing construction.

Citizens will be able to obtain mortgages and subsidies from the start of construction and sell the property before completion, ensuring guaranteed protection for buyers.

The system will allow citizens to apply for mortgages and subsidies when 50% of a building is completed. This will apply not only to subsidized mortgages but also to commercial ones.

Construction companies will be exempt from land tax from the start of construction until completion, but no longer than 12 months. If the project is not finished on time, the developer will be required to pay twice the land tax.

10% of land plots for "New Uzbekistan" housing complexes will be auctioned as a single lot for the construction of commercial properties.

Private kindergartens will be allowed on the ground floors of these buildings and will be exempt from property tax.

Khokims were instructed to account for the needs of residents moving into these complexes and to establish kindergartens on the ground floors of these buildings.

By 2030, Uzbekistan plans to build at least 100 "New Uzbekistan" housing complexes.

New residential areas will be located 1-2 kilometers from city or district centers, with each housing 70,000 people. Each of these complexes will feature 100,000 square meters of residential buildings.

In 2024, 1.2 trillion soums will be allocated for infrastructure in these complexes.

Currently, no single organization is responsible for the construction of these residential areas, and issues such as land allocation, infrastructure development, tree planting, and irrigation and drainage systems remain unresolved.

A company called "Uz Uyim" (My Home) will be established to manage land selection, design, construction, and operation of "New Uzbekistan" housing complexes.

The government is tasked with attracting international experts to develop a housing policy strategy for the next five years.

During the meeting, developers raised concerns about land allocation, loans, permits, infrastructure, commissioning, and property sales.

For instance, 150 multi-apartment buildings with 5,000 apartments remained unfinished due to lack of working capital. It was decided to allocate $310 million from foreign funds for developers’ working capital.

18,000 apartments built with individual gas heating systems could not be commissioned. A working group was instructed to examine each case and propose solutions to the government.

This year, 135,000 apartments with centralized heating and electric stoves for cooking will be built.

A program to reduce street lighting waste will be developed.

Due to delays in elevator commissioning, two teams will be set up in each region, and 20 individuals will be trained for elevator maintenance.

Citizens without formal employment but with income will be eligible for mortgage loans based on a declaration.

However, citizens working abroad cannot currently receive loans or subsidies due to the "lack of official income in Uzbekistan."

A system will be developed to account for the income of citizens working abroad who regularly send money back home over the last six months.

In the past two years, over 5,500 violations were found in housing construction. For example, 88 cases were discovered where contractors built extra floors, and 74 multi-apartment buildings had significant construction quality defects.

This underscored the need to improve construction standards among contractors.

Contractors must now approve documents at a minimum of five stages before construction, which previously took up to two months. The process will now be simplified.

Builders will approve completed projects with state agencies via the "Transparent Construction" platform. If defects are found, they will be corrected.

State Architectural and Construction Inspection will monitor construction compliance, issuing conclusions only after construction is completed. When commissioning properties, conclusions will only be required from two agencies: GASK and the fire safety service.

In the past three years, individuals acquired 47 hectares of land at auctions to build multi-apartment buildings, but in most cases, construction never started.

To attract capable developers, it was decided that land for multi-apartment buildings will only be sold at auctions to legal entities that are VAT payers.

Currently, 14,775 multi-apartment buildings lack clearly defined land plot boundaries, which complicates the work of managing and service companies.

The responsible authorities were instructed to establish and transfer land plot boundaries to property owners.

Developers must sign contracts with service companies before commissioning the buildings, provide staff training, and allocate 2% of construction costs for creating green spaces around the buildings, which will be enshrined in legislation.

This year, 120,000 apartments will be built, and 15,000 apartments in New Tashkent will utilize "green" energy.

To ensure energy sustainability, a 100-megawatt-hour electricity storage system will be installed based on private partnerships.

Heating and cooling in New Tashkent will be provided by a centralized trigeneration system.

All buildings and structures will adhere to high energy efficiency standards. Transportation, lighting systems, and charging stations will meet "green" standards.

The President emphasized the importance of gradually converting all new multi-apartment buildings into "green, energy-efficient" buildings.

To stimulate this process, measures were developed to exempt developers who sign contracts with solar power stations for energy supply from income tax for these buildings, and interest rates on loans will be reduced by 2%.

As a result, developers’ costs will decrease, and electricity for buyers will become cheaper.

Moreover, developers building such "green homes" will have significant opportunities to attract financing through international channels.

In the current year, 15.5 trillion soums will be allocated from the budget to finance housing programs.

Banks plan to direct an additional 10 trillion soums, and the "Mortgage Company" will provide 2.3 trillion soums for these purposes.

In 2025, authorities are tasked with issuing mortgage loans for at least 70,000 homes, 30,000 of which will be subsidized by the budget to make them accessible to low-income families.

To reduce the shadow economy, proposals will be developed to return part of the funds (cashback) paid by citizens for new housing purchases.

The meeting also heard reports from responsible authorities and regional leaders.