Special section of UzBuild «Building equipment and technologies - BuildTech 2025»

25 - 27 February 2025, CAEx Uzbekistan

News

Current issues in the construction sector were discussed

On September 23, a videoconference meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to discuss measures to develop the construction and building materials industries.

Construction gives a powerful impetus to the development of all sectors of the economy. Each project increases the demand for building materials and equipment, workers and specialists. New jobs, infrastructure and services appear around new complexes.

Over the past seven years, $9 billion has been invested in the building materials industry, about 5 thousand new enterprises have been launched, 94 thousand permanent jobs have been created. Production has doubled, the number of enterprises with an annual turnover of over 100 billion soums has exceeded 150.

Over the past five years, the volume of construction has doubled. Due to the development of new products worth $650 million, the share of imports in construction has decreased from 31 to 25 percent.

The building materials export market has expanded to 58 countries. More than 20 warehouses and more than 50 stores have been opened abroad. This year, it is planned to increase the volume of exports to $1 billion.

At the same time, there are problems in the sphere, and huge potential remains unrealized. At the meeting, the head of state analyzed the possibilities, announced new initiatives and tasks.

Today, there are 7 basalt enterprises with a capacity of 140 thousand tons in our country. As a result of the widespread use of this product in construction, energy consumption in new residential and social buildings has decreased to 20 percent.

In addition, energy costs can be reduced by another 2 times by using materials such as sun-reflecting glass, vermiculite mixture. The use of fiber panels on the facade of buildings also gives good results. The country has enough cement and enriched sand necessary for its production.

Responsible persons were given instructions on the production of such important building materials. In particular, it was noted that investment projects worth 20 million dollars will be implemented at the Quartz enterprise in Kuvasay, and at the glass factory in Jizzakh - worth 10 million dollars.

In general, 350 new projects worth 3.5 billion dollars are planned to be implemented together with entrepreneurs. During their construction and operation, it is planned to employ 50 thousand citizens from low-income families.

It is very important to reduce energy costs in the manufacture of building materials. This affects their cost price and market attractiveness.

Although over the past two years, production in the industry has increased by 1.2 times, due to targeted measures, energy consumption by enterprises has been reduced by 1.3 times, and energy intensity - by 1.6 times. For example, at Kyzylkumcement, heat exchange equipment was reconstructed, which allowed saving 37 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

Today, leading foreign enterprises are actively using the technology of generating electricity through the reuse of thermal energy. It was noted that based on the completion of an energy audit at 34 enterprises with high energy consumption, it is possible to save 300 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

Currently, out of 170 types of building materials produced in our country, domestic demand is covered for 97 types. However, due to the lack of market research, there is oversaturation.

Therefore, a list of building materials that the market is saturated with will now be published. Based on internal and external needs, proposals for new products will be prepared and posted on the open portal. The projects will be reviewed at the scientific and technical council of the Uzpromstroymaterialy Association. A testing laboratory based on Korean experience will be created at the association.

Instructions were given on auctioning identified sand and gravel areas, strengthening control over the illegal use of non-metallic deposits.

The meeting also discussed current issues in the construction sector.

Over the past seven years, construction worth almost 100 billion dollars has been carried out in our country. The volume of work in this area is growing by an average of 7-8 percent per year.

The world's construction industry is developing every day, new technologies and innovations are coming into practice. However, outdated standards and approaches are still preserved in our country.

The need for regular updating of urban development norms and rules in order to keep up with modern methods was emphasized.

As is known, in order to develop tourism, trade and services on the ground, master plans for regions are being developed. For example, in the Bukhara and Navoi regions, the work has accelerated, the first land plots have been sold to entrepreneurs. However, in some regions, this process is still slow.

The khokims of the regions have been instructed to accelerate the implementation of 48 master plans for the integrated development and urbanization of territories, 20 for the creation of tourist zones, 68 for the expansion of roadside trade and services.

Particular attention is paid to the issue of construction quality. It is noted that some ill-conceived projects cause discontent among people.

It has been established that daily monitoring will be carried out for each building under construction. For this purpose, a headquarters will be created in the territorial departments of the Inspectorate for Control in the Sphere of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities. Video cameras will be installed on each building built at the expense of the state, the information from which will be sent to the inspection online.

The control of mahalla chairmen and the public over illegal construction will also be strengthened. Data with a QR code will be placed in front of each building under construction. In the absence of a passport with such a code, the construction will be considered illegal.

Responsible persons have been instructed to create a new digitalized system for monitoring construction, improve the activities of the relevant inspection.

There are also many complaints about the activities of urban planning councils created in each region. The consideration and approval of projects submitted to the council is delayed for months.

In this regard, it was noted that the processes associated with these councils will be fully digitalized. Now all projects will be submitted electronically through the Shaffof Qurilish platform. Council members will electronically approve the project on this platform. The project review period will not exceed 15 days.

There are cases of buyers being deceived in housing construction. Therefore, a guaranteed escrow account system for purchasing housing will now be introduced.

Thus, developers will enter into an agreement with banks to organize the sale of the houses they are building. People wishing to purchase an apartment will not pay the developer, but directly to the bank. And the banks will provide the collected funds to the developer as a resource. That is, banks will act as a "bridge" between the developer and the buyer, guaranteeing timely and high-quality construction of housing and its transfer to the owner.

Responsible persons have been instructed to gradually implement these new procedures.

The quality of construction also depends on the knowledge and skills of employees. Therefore, a system for assessing the qualifications of workers in construction will now be introduced.

Specific requirements for the level of qualification will be established. To obtain the category, applicants will undergo training in professional educational institutions. Specialists who study independently or as apprentices and who pass the qualification exam will receive a certificate without additional training.

The same system will be applied to design organizations.

The head of state heard the proposals and opinions of entrepreneurs on the issues discussed at the meeting. Responsible persons were given instructions on such numerous proposals as processing local raw materials, manufacturing products in demand on the market, creating a healthy competitive environment by introducing a mandatory certification system, hiring additional labor for construction in a simplified manner.