NEWS24

Сountry member Uzbekistan

It is located in the central part of Central Asia. It covers an area of 449,000 square kilometres. Population - 37 million people, the number of inhabitants is steadily growing. The territory of Uzbekistan is diverse, but large areas of this country are deserts, steppes and mountains. The cities of Uzbekistan, around which the life of the people of this country is centred, are located in river valleys. The climate is sharply continental. Average January temperatures range from +4 °C in the south to -10 °C in the north, and July temperatures range from +27 °C in the north to +37 °C in the south.

The capital is Tashkent (over 3 million people). Tashkent is the most important educational centre of Uzbekistan; most of the most important educational facilities of the country are concentrated in the city.

For architects, apart from its obvious historical value, the city is interesting because during the 20th-21st centuries it went through several serious stages of reconstruction.

On 26 April 1966, a strong earthquake struck Tashkent, resulting in significant damage to houses in the central part of the city. Almost the entire city was destroyed. It was completely rebuilt in 3.5 years thanks to the efforts and the most up-to-date architectural and engineering developments of the USSR, reconstruction was carried out and several new neighbourhoods were built.

In June 2019, the British architectural firm Benoy[English] presented a masterplan for ‘New Tashkent’, which will be located on an area of 200 km² south-east of the existing city, which has an area of about 335 km². The construction of a new administrative and economic centre ‘in the field’ was intended to reduce the burden on the ‘old’ city and preserve its architectural appearance. It was stated that the new city would be able to accommodate two million people, and embassies, buildings of ministries and departments would be moved to its administrative zone.

It implements large complex construction projects with the involvement of major designers and developers from the UK, Turkey, China, Germany, Russia and other countries. For example, on 28 July 2017, a government decree was adopted on the establishment of the Tashkent City MDC. The project is being successfully implemented.