June 23, 2014
Uzbekistan produces over 26,000 tonnes of cocoons. 2
The 10th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair (OCTOBER 13-14, 2014)2
Uzbek cotton and textile fair to be held in mid-October2
Uzbekistan stakes on infrastructure projects. 2
Press-service of MFA of the Republic of Uzbekistan
ECONOMY
Uzbekistan produces over 26,000 tonnes of cocoons
Silkworm breeders of Uzbekistan produced over 26,000 tonnes of cocoons this season and fully carried out their annual contractual obligations.
As reported earlier, Uzbekistan produced over 25,000 tonnes of cocoons in 2013.
Silkworm breeders from Surkhandarya, Ferghana, Bukhara, Namangan, Kashkadarya, Navoi and Andijan regions were among the regions, which first executed contractual obligations.
Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management of Uzbekistan said that farmers bred 445,000 boxes of silkworm eggs and 90% of yield was sold as high quality.
(Source: UzDaily.com)
The 10th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair (OCTOBER 13-14, 2014)
Uzbek cotton and textile fair to be held in mid-October
The tenth International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair will be held in Tashkent on 13-14 October 2014.
The fair is aimed at further expanding long-term cooperation with international organizations and foreign companies, leading processors and consumers of cotton, analyze trends in cotton markets, etc.
The event is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade of Uzbekistan at the assistance of Uzbekistan Commodity Exchange, Uzpakhtasanoat Association, Uzbek Center for Certificaton of Cotton Fibre “Sifat”, Uzbekyengilsanoat and others.
During the Cotton and Textile Fair participants will have an opportunity to sign contracts for Uzbek cotton, set up long-term cooperation in cotton trading, as well as to be familiar with the quality of Uzbek cotton and latest innovations in trade and logistics.
Moreover, during the Cotton Fair “round tables” and bilateral negotiations between Uzbek cotton exporters and consumers will be organized. The guests of the Cotton Fair will have an opportunity to participate in the cotton trading session on Uzbek commodity exchange.
Within the framework of the Fair, it is planned to discuss current problems and prospects for the world cotton market development as well as to learn competent views of leading international experts.
In particular, the participants will consider such issues as world cotton and textile market: demand and supply, prices and factors, current state and prospects of production and marketing of cotton in Uzbekistan, new technologies to increase cotton competitiveness, world market of cotton textile: present and future, investment climate and foreign investors in cotton and textile industry of Uzbekistan, etc.
(Source: UzDaily.com)
infrastructure
Uzbekistan stakes on infrastructure projects
In modern society, the development of transport infrastructure is turning into a vital necessity. However, the implementation of such projects requires huge investments, high engineering proficiency, and technological security. And the payback period is often an obstacle to attracting private sector partners at that. On the other hand, experts say, the elimination of ‘white spots’ on the infrastructure map stimulates the growth of investment in industry, development of underdeveloped areas, and evens out the economic and social state of regions.
Uzbekistan has a huge logistical and freight transit capacity. Located in the heart of Central Asia, the country has a huge historical baggage, when thousands caravans went along the Silk Road from Europe to China and Japan, through the world’s renowned trade centers of Samarqand and Bukhoro.
Today the republic is increasingly referred to as one of the key elements in the emerging transport-transit system in the region. Last year, China came up with a new initiative on the revival of the Silk Road as a new economic integration project on Central Asian space. The so-called ‘economic zone of the Silk Road’ will connect the countries of the entire Asian continent with road and railway mains, which will give a new impetus to the development of their economies and trade cooperation. Leaders of Uzbekistan and China talked much about that during Islam Karimov’s visit to the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
Experts underscore that the favorable geographical location of Uzbekistan will allow it to be the region’s key player in transport and transit in the future. This is especially relevant due to the fact that Asian economies, unlike the European ones, continue to grow rapidly despite the crisis, increasing production, exports of goods and services. In turn, this increases the demand for transportation and logistics services, stimulates the creation of new transport corridors and integration initiatives.
As projected, the growth rate of cargo transit through the territory of Uzbekistan in 2015-2020 might reach one million tons per year. The country has been taking a range of measures for the development of production, transport, engineering and communication infrastructures, large-scale construction of highways, and been procuring cutting-edge equipment. 31.7 km of railways were reconstructed and repaired, 96 trucks and seven passenger cars were produced in the first quarter of 2014 alone. The projects on electrification of railroads Marokand – Qarshi and Qarshi – Termiz drew $7.3 million and $4.9 million, respectively.
The Republican Road Fund invested 41.7 billion soums in the construction and reconstruction of roads within the Uzbek national highway, which has grown 2.2 times YOY. The amount of foreign loans guaranteed by the government of Uzbekistan made up $9.6 million. It is expected that such measures will help to establish new transport corridors in Uzbekistan as the shortest way to international transport communications, as well as intensify transit, increase access to regional and global markets, as well as raise the efficiency of export potential and expansion of domestic outlets.
‘Running on the asphalt’
The length of the road network in Uzbekistan exceeds 184,000 kilometers. Its core link – the Uzbek national highway – incorporates all regions of the country into a single transport and logistics chain. Its segments are built and reconstructed across the country using up-to-date cement concrete and asphalt covering that meets the highest international standards.
The reconstruction of major highway through the Qamchiq pass is assigned a special part. It links regions of Uzbekistan with the Farghona Valley – one of the major industrial and agricultural centers of the country. There is Asaka Automobile Plant and dozens of other companies producing various automotive spare parts. It is worth to mention famous fruits and vegetables, much of which is exported to the CIS countries. Carriage of huge scope of goods is impossible without an efficient logistics and transport network, and creation of new routes and roads. Specializing in automotive and container transportation of goods from three regions of the Valley, the Angren Logistics Center is of great help in this regard. It’s modern machinery, equipment, trucks and warehouses meet international standards.
An average 220-270 kilometers of roads is annually built and reconstructed across the country. The Program of Accelerated Development of Infrastructure, Transport and Communication Construction for 2011-2015 is the vital document in this direction. It envisages building and reconstruction of 2,306 km of roads, and investing more than $3.3 billion in the development of the road transport system. The Program assigns a special part to expanding highways and improving the quality of the roadway. For example, 1,410 kilometers of roads will become four-lane, and 288 kilometers will be two-lane with cement concrete and asphalt surfaces.
In 2014, the Program envisages the reconstruction of 503 kilometers of roads within the structure of the Uzbek national highway. The 116-km section of Ghuzor-Bukhoro-Nukus-Beynau road and the 100-kilometer section of Tashkent-Osh highway through Qamchiq pass will be restructured and reconstructed. It is worth noting that 896 kilometers of currently building roads are designed for the capacity 13 tons of cargo load on each vehicle axle against previous 10 tons.
The industry is undergoing technological re-equipment. It is scheduled to upgrade the manufacturing and industrial capacity of 24 enterprises by the end of 2015 through procuring 444 items of modern equipment for the construction and maintenance of roads in good condition. The list includes equipment for the production of 100 tons of asphalt mix per hour, rollers, metal working machines, motor graders, excavators and pavers.
Domestic automakers have been making their contribution, too. Earlier this year, a road marking machine passed performance tests in Tashkent. It was developed jointly by Uzbek and German engineers to stripe the roadway, and manufactured on the basis of MAN chassis at the plant near Samarqand.
The marking technology and equipment was provided by the German company Gruen Gmbh. Unlike paint, which is widely used in equipment in the capital, the new one applies hot thermoplastic, which is more efficient and long-lasting. Nowadays, the technology is broadly used in the European Union and the United States. The machine is capable to put marks on the roadway line from 10 to 40 cm in width and 2.6 mm in thickness. All parameters of the applied coating are managed by the driver through the control electronic dispensing system. It will be used on roads and highways with heavy traffic at a temperature of minus 40 to plus 50 degrees Celsius.
Gaining ground
Established in 2008 at Navoi International Airport and run by Korean Air, the multimodal transport and logistics hub has played a huge role in the development of transport and transit capacity of Uzbekistan. The country has now a unique opportunity to expand the export flows of Uzbek fruits and vegetables to Europe and Asia. In 2010, modern neutral gas storage facilities were commissioned near Navoi Free Industrial Economic Zone with the capacity of over three thousand tons of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Currently, the Uzbek and Korean sides are actively working to increase the flow of freight through the logistics hub. Uzbekistan plans to increase its capacity to 300,000 tons. For this purpose Uzbekistan Airways and Korean Air have extended the terms of the contract on building an international logistics center on the basis of Navoi airport for five years. Today, the Navoi air harbor collaborates with major logistics centers of Eurasia, including Incheon, Milan, Brussels, Istanbul, Dubai, New Delhi and Tianjin. Last year, the volume of freight transported reached 25 thousand tons. In 2013, the national airline performed more than 24.5 thousand flights, carried more than 2.6 million passengers and 41 million tons of cargo.
Steel mains
Uzbekistan Railways is experiencing a time of rapid development. Over the years of independence Uzbekistan has created a unified national railway network with a total length of over 6,020 km. Meanwhile, the current realities require the development and exploration of new routes linking major international markets, as well as the rational use of existing highways. The construction of an electrified railway Angren-Pop is one of the major projects to provide the optimal route linking Central and South Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The joint project with Chinese partners was launched in June 2013, when Uzbekistan Railways signed a contract with the Chinese company China Railway Tunnel Group on the construction of the passing tunnel on the railway Angren-Pop for $455 million.
Traffic volumes indicate the role of the industry in the development of transport and transit capacities. By the end of 2013, the share of railways in cargo traffic amounted to about 70%, and 90% in the total volume of cargo import and export. The freight turnover of Uzbekistan Railways in local destinations totaled 63.7 million tons, or 3.5 percent growth YOY. 8.3 million tons of cargo was transited. The total volume of exported and imported goods exceeded 18.5 million tons. In 2014, the railroad sector plans to significantly increase performance be means of the latest equipment purchased from leading manufacturers. To date, the domestic railway fleet includes 242 trunk, 258 maneuvering locomotives and 100 electric locomotives. 11 modern freight locomotives were purchased for the industry last year. Chinese and Uzbek engineers worked together on their development.
(Source: “Uzbekistan Today” newspaper)