The Agency for the Development of Public-Private Partnerships launched its website; Uzbekneftegaz and Worley Parsons to set up petrochemical cluster; Representatives of Greensville, Uncle Ben’s, Mars to visit Uzbekistan as part of US governor’s trade mission; World Bank: Uzbek citizens positively evaluate the ongoing reforms;
The Agency for the Development of Public-Private Partnerships launched its website
“This portal is a transparent and centralized information resource for potential investors who are in search of high-quality PPP projects,” the portal reports.
So far, the site has published information on nine projects for business, including the construction of a road in the Syrdarya region, the modernization of airports, the opening of 39 hemodialysis centers in the Tashkent, Samarkand and Jizzakh regions.
The Agency for the Development of Public-Private Partnerships was established in the autumn of 2018. It defines a unified policy of PPP in Uzbekistan, reviews projects, agrees on tender documentation and agreements on PPP. The agency provides support to sectoral ministries in identifying, developing, conducting tenders and financing PPP projects.
Uzbekneftegaz and Worley Parsons to set up petrochemical cluster
Bohodirjon Sidikov, chairman of the board of the joint-stock company Uzbekneftegaz, and Andrew Woodhead, regional director for Europe and the CIS countries of Worley Parsons, discussed the creation of a petrochemical cluster, the press service of the Uzbek company said after the meeting.
“The agenda includes a discussion of joint projects and prospects for cooperation in the field of oil and gas processing, monetization of natural gas, the creation of a petrochemical cluster,” the publication said.
At the meeting the partnership in the field of training specialists in project management and design of oil and gas facilities in the country was also discussed.
Representatives of Greensville, Uncle Ben’s, Mars to visit Uzbekistan as part of US governor’s trade mission
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant says he is planning a trade mission to Uzbekistan in the autumn, becoming the first American governor to visit Uzbekistan since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Uzbekistan, Asia Times reports.
In an interview with Capitol Intelligence during the recent National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington, DC, Bryant said Mississippi and Uzbekistan were tied together through the US Defense Department’s State Partnership Program between the Mississippi National Guard and the government of Uzbekistan.
American delegation will include representatives of leading Mississippi companies interested in building partnerships with Uzbekistan such as the Greensville, Mississippi-based Uncle Ben’s owned by McLean, Virginia-based conglomerate Mars, Inc.
World Bank: Uzbek citizens positively evaluate the ongoing reforms
On February 2019, the World Bank’s investment portfolio in Uzbekistan includes 19 projects with an aggregate size of about $3,4 billion, WB vice-president for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller said during a visit to the republic.
According to him, since beginning of the implementation of large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan in 2017, the scale and nature of cooperation with an international financial institution has increased. So, today the World Bank program in the republic is among the top three of its largest operations in the region covered. The volume of financing projects in the energy sector is $614 million, transport – $271 million, healthcare – $241 million, education – $92 million, urban development – $120 million, and support in implementing macroeconomic reforms – $500 million.
Cyril Muller also noted the importance of citizen support for reforms. In particular, referring to the results of the study “Listening to the citizens of Uzbekistan” conducted by the WB since 2018 among more than 4,000 households in all regions of the country, he said that 95% of respondents are optimistic about the country’s economic future. Most citizens positively assess key government reforms, for example, unification of the exchange rate in September 2017. About 80% of those polled said that they welcomed the increased opportunities for interaction with the authorities on significant political issues.