The financing agreements were signed by the President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Muhammad Al-Jasser, and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Jamshid Kuchkarov, to back significant infrastructure and social development projects on the sidelines of the Second AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies.
The two parties also discussed the expansion of cooperation between the IsDB and Uzbekistan, with a particular emphasis on expediting high-impact projects in accordance with the national development priorities of Uzbekistan.
The initial agreement is a $70 million phase of the total of $192 million that the IsDB has pledged towards the rehabilitation of the 4R40 Dashtabad-Zaamin-Bakhmal-Galyaaral road.
However, the funding will assist in reconstructing 143 km of the regional highway and rehabilitating 30 km of local and rural roads in Jizzakh Region.
This project is expected to relieve traffic congestion, enhance road safety for over 200,000 individuals, increase access to markets and social services, and increase economic and tourism potential.
The second contract finalizes a $94.06 million phase of the total contribution of the IsDB of $160.25 million to the SmartEd project. The initiative includes the construction and equipping of 58 new educational institutions and the addition of 2,431 classrooms to existing schools throughout Uzbekistan.
It aims to develop a holistic competency-based education system that will serve about 72,930 students each year, with specialized training to over 36,115 teachers and administrative staff.
According to a statement, Al-Jasser confirmed that the IsDB’s commitment to help Uzbekistan develop via results-oriented collaboration. The IsDB release reported that Kuchkarov also welcomed the ongoing collaboration, emphasizing the need to continuously invest in connectivity and human capital to achieve long-term resilient growth.
The IsDB authorized another set of projects reaching about $1.36 billion to benefit 12 member States including Uzbekistan, in December. The Islamic development finance institution funded a total of $110 million dollars in photovoltaic solar and battery storage in the Samarkand I and Samarkand II plants, strengthening national grid capacities.
