Development finance assessment

Public-Private Partnerships 
The intention of the government to reduce its presence in the economy, and to reduce the 
tax burden for companies, increases the difficulty of allocating sufficient budget resources 
towards addressing the increasing infrastructure investment gap. The GoU intends to use 
public-private partnerships (PPPs) to channel increasing levels of private investment towards 
infrastructure investments in energy, communal services, transport, health care, education, 
culture and tourism. When well-designed and implemented in a balanced regulatory 
environment, PPPs can bring greater efficiency and sustainability to the provision of public 
services, thus allowing to free-up scarce public resources for other purposes. PPPs are also 
expected to provide additional revenues to the GoU through the fees and taxes and other 
indirect spill-overs. 
Since 2018, Uzbekistan has adopted the PPP Law, creating significant investment 
opportunities for local and international private investors to take part in the economic growth 
of Uzbekistan. In addition, the PPP Development Agency (PPPDA) was created to facilitate 
and coordinate PPP project development, including project screening, reviewing feasibility 
studies, and drafting tender documents and PPP contracts. Production sharing agreements 
and public procurement are excluded from the scope of the law. The PPP law provides a 
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https://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/journal-advance-publication-article.asp?key=1787
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The recent Uzbekistan-Turkey BIT is a good example of how to clarify host states regulatory powers.

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DIMENSION 3: 
PRIVATE-PUBLIC COLLABORATION
high level of security for a domestic investor-partner, as there is no discrimination between 
domestic and foreign PPP partner, and private partner position is de jure well secured. 
The Agency for PPP Development acts primarily as a project manager for the Government 
and facilitates PPP development.
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The Agency currently lists a total of 66 PPPs across different 
sectors which it is developing along with international financial institutions. The total value of 
investment is estimated to be at least USD 8 billion. 
The eleven listed energy projects account for almost 70 percent of total planned PPP 
investments. Most of the funds are directed to the construction of new energy facilities – 
thermal power plants, as well as photovoltaic and wind-based solar and wind power stations. 
For example, Uzbekistan intends to use the PPP to develop a 1,500MW combined cycle gas 
(CCGT) plant in Syrdarya. Ongoing PPPs in the energy sector include the design, financing, 
construction and operation of 600MW of solar energy capacity in Samarkand, Jizzakh 
and Sherabad with the Asian Development Bank. The GoU is also promoting PPPs in the 
agriculture sector, but no projects have been listed to date. The Government is considering 
decentralizing PPP activities to support local government bodies in the fields of pre-school 
education.
To support PPP projects the GoU if needed may provide financial support through 
subsidies (including ensuring a guaranteed minimum profit of the Private Partner under the 
Project); invests its own financial resources or property; and purchases a predefined amount 
of goods and/or services provided by the PPP. Government can also use guarantees, tax and 
other advantages or compensations to underpin the viability of PPPs. 
Through PPPs the private sector could make a significant contribution to the SDGs in 
Uzbekistan, especially SDG 9 (resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrialization). 
By supporting SDG target 9.1
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it would enable progress in access to quality education, 
healthcare, water, and sanitation, while also focus on those hardest to reach. However, the 
GoU’s current approach to PPPs seems to have little practical connections to the nationalized 
SDGs.