Uzbekistan new indd

participants of the consortium (excepting, of course, 
Uzbekneftegaz).
Electricity 
Since 2006, China has financed a number of projects 
in Uzbekistan’s electricity sector. These projects are 
mainly focused on the construction of small hydro-
power plants (SHP), implemented by the Uzbek com-
pany Uzsuvenergo under the Ministry of Agriculture 
and Water Resources of Uzbekistan, and are fund-
ed by loans provided by the EXIM Bank of China. 
These projects are part of a program implemented by 
Uzbekistan which envisages the construction of 41 
such plants. 
Transport 
Uzbekistan does not share a border with China, and 
transportation between the two countries is con-
ducted through the territories of Kazakhstan and 
Kyrgyzstan. Therefore, in terms of the development 
of transport communications, Uzbekistan is of inter-
est to China only as a transit country within the sys-
tem of trans-Asian international routes. Accordingly, 
Chinese transport interests are focused on the con-
struction of the Uzbek section of the railway to China 
via Kyrgyzstan as well as a road following the same 
route—which has not yet begun. 
Construction 
Since 2008 China has displayed interest in Uzbek 
construction materials. Possessing huge reserves of 
primary commodities, including materials for ce-
ment production, Uzbekistan plans to significantly 
increase production by attracting foreign investment. 
However, until now China and Chinese businesses 
have been relatively inactive in this sector. 
Telecommunications 
From 2005 onward, the telecommunications services 
market has developed apace in Uzbekistan with the 
number of mobile phone users having increased sig-
nificantly. In January 2007, a government decree was 
signed on the further development and moderniza-
tion of the state joint stock company Uzbektelecom, 
which gave a significant boost to the development of 
the telecommunications industry in the country. As 
a result, the industry has attracted the close atten-
tion of Chinese businesses. Chinese companies such 
as ZTE, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and Alcatel 
Shanghai Bell have long been present in the market of 
Uzbekistan and have been involved in implementing 
a number of telecommunications projects, including 
those related to trade and services. 
Chemical Industry 
China’s involvement in the chemical industry of 
Uzbekistan has been limited to only one fairly large 
project—which, however, is of consider able impor-
tance for Tashkent. The project in question is the 
construction and operation of a plant for the produc-
tion of soda in Kungrad (Republic of Karakalpakstan, 
north-western Uzbekistan). Back in 2002, the 
Chinese company CITIC Group signed an agreement 
with the Uzbek state company Uzhimprom to design 
and construct a plant ($32.3 million) for the produc-
tion of soda. The plant with a capacity of producing 
100,000 tons of soda ash per year became operational 
in 2006. Part of the production is exported to China. 
The contract was funded by a loan from the Industrial 
and Commercial Bank of China to the tune of $29.2 
million with the remaining $3.1 million provided by 
Uzpromstroybank of Uzbekistan. 
Agriculture 
China’s presence in the agricultural sector of 
Uzbekistan as a whole is small and limited mainly to 
exports of agricultural machinery. These supplies are 
financed through loans from EXIM Bank of China. 
Information on this is fragmentary. Nevertheless, it 
would appear that there will be a continued growth 
of interest from China in this industry. 
Textile Industry 
It is known that in 2013 China and Chinese compa-
nies began to show more interest in set ting up several 
textile industries. Most likely, this trend will develop 
further and we should expect large-scale projects and 
investments from China in the Uzbek textile industry 
in the coming years.