Uzbekistan Weekly: Uzbekistan secures rail financing, spearheads CBDC pilot, accelerates renewables

December 11, 2025 to December 17, 2025

This week's top 10 stories from Uzbekistan, selected from our daily intelligence briefs.

1. Financing Structure Set for China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway, With Beijing Providing 35-Year Loan

China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have agreed the financing split for the $4.7 billion China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway: roughly half (~$2.3 billion) will be provided as a 35‑year syndicated loan from China Development Bank and Eximbank of China to the joint project company, with the remaining half injected as equity by the three states (China 51%, Kyrgyzstan 24.5%, Uzbekistan 24.5%). The financing agreement was signed in Kyrgyzstan with Deputy Prime Minister Bakit Torobayev present, who said the partners are targeting full financial close by December 20, 2025.

The project, which officially broke ground in late 2024, is among the region’s most technically complex: the 304 km Kyrgyz alignment requires about 50 bridges and 29 tunnels, with roughly 40% of the route built on tunnels and bridges. Greater Chinese financing and majority equity position give Beijing decisive influence over delivery and risk allocation, while Kyrgyz and Uzbek stakes maintain host‑state participation; executives have emphasized efficient use of funds and on‑time performance as implementation proceeds.

Local Coverage: kun.uz, qalampir.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-17

2. Central Bank Assigned to Lead FinTech Development and Launch Digital Currency Pilot

Uzbekistan’s president has widened the Central Bank’s mandate to lead national fintech development while retaining core macroeconomic priorities—banking stability, uninterrupted payments and price stability. The decree tasks the Central Bank with producing a 2026–2030 fintech strategy with foreign advisers, introducing tokenized shares and bonds under cybersecurity oversight, and delivering a central bank digital currency (CBDC) roadmap by April 2025; a special legal regime permitting tokens as a payment instrument is required by February 2025. The bank must also adopt an IT modernization plan internally by April and will pilot unified QR-code payment standards in December 2024.

To accelerate innovation, the decree simplifies regulatory sandbox rules, creates thematic sandboxes for startups, establishes a $50 million venture fund to be managed by a trusted foreign manager by July 1, 2025, and creates an innovation center. For international professionals, the package signals an assertive, state-led push to digitize financial infrastructure and attract foreign expertise and capital, while preserving macroprudential control—raising opportunities for technology partners and fund managers but also underscoring regulatory oversight on tokenization and cybersecurity.

Local Coverage: gazeta.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-16

3. O‘zbekneftgaz Subsidiary Secures Up to $3 Billion Financing Framework with Cargill

UNG Overseas, a subsidiary of state oil company O‘zbekneftgaz, has signed a cooperation agreement with U.S. agribusiness and trading firm Cargill to arrange up to $3 billion in long‑term financing to bolster Uzbekistan’s energy security. The agreement does not disclose specific instruments, timelines or project allocations, but the framework could provide structured trade finance, commodity‑linked funding or project finance to support upstream and midstream upgrades and multi‑year modernization efforts.

For international stakeholders, the deal signals increased Western private‑sector participation in financing Uzbekistan’s energy sector and a potential diversification of funding beyond multilateral and regional lenders. The ultimate impact will depend on execution details and disbursement conditions; if fully mobilized, the scale of the facility could reduce import pressures, improve domestic supply reliability and accelerate infrastructure upgrades.

Local Coverage: kun.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-13

4. Renewables Build-Out Launches Across Four Regions with 3.5 GW Capacity

Construction has begun on a 3.5 GW renewable energy build-out across four Uzbek regions — Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, Kashkadarya and Tashkent — representing a $3.3 billion investment aimed at strengthening energy security and accelerating the shift from gas-fired generation. While the announcement does not specify technologies, developers or timelines, the project scale and capital intensity point to utility‑scale solar and wind farms, likely paired with grid upgrades and storage to manage seasonal demand and intermittent supply.

For international professionals, the multi‑region rollout signals meaningful opportunities in engineering, equipment supply, financing and long‑term operations, but also underscores the need to engage with regional infrastructure constraints and Uzbekistan’s regulatory environment as projects advance. The initiative could materially reduce seasonal electricity shortfalls if delivery, grid integration and complementary investments proceed on schedule.

Local Coverage: kun.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-12

5. New Business Rights Law to Overhaul Legal Framework and Curb Interference

Uzbekistan is drafting a new Business Rights Law, due to take effect on 1 July 2026, that would comprehensively overhaul the entrepreneurship framework by strengthening property protections, curbing unjustified inspections and state intervention in company operations, and expanding support for women, youth and social enterprises. The long lead time—roughly 18 months until implementation—gives domestic firms and foreign investors time to adjust compliance procedures and anticipate clearer rules on ownership security and limits on government oversight.

For international professionals, the draft signals a policy shift toward legal predictability and investor protection that could reduce regulatory risk and lower the transaction costs of operating in Uzbekistan. The emphasis on inclusive entrepreneurship also suggests forthcoming targeted incentives or programs that may broaden access to finance and markets for underrepresented groups, creating new partnership or investment opportunities; the report did not include official comments or named sources.

Local Coverage: kun.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-11

6. Tashkent Sets 2030 Growth Targets with Governance Overhaul and $20bn FDI Plan

Tashkent has launched an ambitious governance and infrastructure overhaul to manage rapid population growth (≈100,000 people per year, exceeding 3.5 million by 2030) and accelerate economic development. City targets include raising gross regional product to $52 billion and nearly doubling per capita income to $15,000, underpinned by a planned $20 billion in foreign direct investment over 2026–2027, sector-focused district development (high-tech and logistics in Sergeli, Yangihayot, Bektemir; services, creative economy and tourism in central districts; AI, fintech and education in eastern areas), and recruitment of former megacity leaders as advisers. Officials flagged immediate constraints — severe congestion, a 9.5% shadow economy and a shortage of over 100,000 school and kindergarten places — that the program aims to address to enable rapid growth beginning in 2026.

Practical measures ordered by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasize urban resilience and liveability: a citywide drainage master plan with 150 km of closed drainage, repair of 197 km of canals/collectors and 63 km of new canals; 17 rainwater-harvesting facilities; riverbank reinforcement (18.5 km of canals, 16 km of the Chirchiq River) to open 800 ha for green belts and bike lanes; 24/7 utilities and emergency services; creation of artificial lakes in four zones within three months; and three shaded 5-km walking streets per district by June 1, 2026. The initiatives aim to lift Tashkent’s environmental ranking in the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index from 471st into the top 300, signaling a push to align urban infrastructure with international standards to attract investment and talent.

Local Coverage: anhor.uz, uzdaily.uz, kun.uz, gazeta.uz, uza.uz, qalampir.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-17

7. Central Bank Holds Key Rate at 14% to Reinforce Disinflation Path

On 11 December 2025 the Central Bank held its policy rate at 14% to sustain tighter monetary conditions and reinforce a medium‑term disinflation path. Headline inflation eased to 7.5% y/y in November and core inflation slowed to 6.3%, helped by a stronger som and stabilising import prices; the Bank now projects year‑end 2025 inflation ≈7.3% and ~6.5% for end‑2026.

Economic activity remains robust—GDP growth is seen at 7–7.5% (2025), with rising labour demand, retail and paid‑services turnover, and interbank transactions—but demand‑side pressures persist, notably fast retail credit growth and services inflation above headline due to resilient demand. Supply risks include selected food items, recent transport tariff increases and regulated price indexation. The next policy meeting is scheduled for 28 January 2026.

Local Coverage: norma.uz, uza.uz, gazeta.uz, kun.uz, anhor.uz, qalampir.uz

From daily briefs: 2025-12-12, 2025-12-13

8. Tashkent Signs Deal with UK Firms to Build Waste-Processing Plant

Tashkent city authorities have signed an agreement with UK equipment makers CDE Group and Kiverco to build a municipal waste‑processing plant in the Uzbek capital, following a UK–Uzbekistan waste‑management business forum held at Uzbekistan’s Embassy in London. The forum brought together UK Export Finance (UKEF), CDE Group, Kiverco, engineering and advisory firms Fichtner and Operis, and major investors; Tashkent delegates also toured London waste facilities to study technologies and operational models.

The deal signals potential UK export‑credit support and deployment of British recycling and materials‑handling technology in Uzbekistan’s municipal services, positioning Tashkent to modernize solid‑waste handling and recycling capacity. Key commercial details — including project timelines, financing structure and plant throughput — were not disclosed in the initial announcements.

Local Coverage: uzdaily.uz, kun.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-16

9. EBRD and Finance Ministry Discuss Expanded Cooperation and State Bank Reforms

On 10 December in Tashkent, senior European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officials — Managing Director for Financial Institutions Francis Malige, Regional Managing Director for Central Asia and Mongolia Huseyin Ozhan and Tashkent head Andi Aranitasi — met with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov, deputy minister Ilhomjon Umrzakov and representatives of key ministries and banks to review cooperation and accelerate financial‑sector reforms. Discussions prioritized expanding joint projects, monitoring macroeconomic trends, and fast‑tracking privatization and transformation of state‑owned banks as part of broader market liberalization; the parties agreed to deepen collaboration and broaden policy dialogue to strengthen banking efficiency and sustain growth.

Kuchkarov also met with Sameh Wahba, World Bank Regional Director for Sustainable Development in Europe and Central Asia, to outline next steps on agriculture, water management and environmental programs. Participants reviewed plans to scale innovation‑driven agricultural projects, modernize irrigation networks and canals to improve water efficiency for irrigated lands, and advance air‑quality measures via green infrastructure and energy‑efficiency upgrades; both sides committed to intensify coordination and information exchange to ensure continued financing and technical support for these sector reforms.

Local Coverage: uzdaily.uz

From daily briefs: 2025-12-11, 2025-12-12

10. WTO Accession Drive Aligns Phytosanitary System and Expands Agri-Export Reach

Uzbekistan has modernized its phytosanitary framework and expanded market access as part of its WTO accession drive, contributing to a 37% year‑to‑date rise in food exports to $3.0 billion and a projected $3.2 billion in 2024. Authorities are aligning national plant‑health rules with international norms—updating terminology, adopting more than 30 ISPMs and about 140 regional standards from the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization—and overhauling pesticide and fertilizer registration to FAO/WHO guidance.

Operational reforms include expanded accredited laboratory capacity, digitized border monitoring via e‑Fito.uz and E‑PHYTO integration, targeted risk tiers, and phased privatization of fumigation to lower costs and boost competition. The measures underpin a widening of fruit and vegetable export destinations to 83 markets and strengthen Uzbekistan’s global position in dried prunes and apricots (3rd), peaches and raisins (7th), cherries (8th) and grapes (13th), according to Gayrat Yergashev, Head of WTO Cooperation Division, Agency of Plant Quarantine and Protection.

Local Coverage: uza.uz

From daily brief: 2025-12-15

About This Weekly Digest

The stories above represent the most significant developments from Uzbekistan this week, selected through our AI-powered analysis of hundreds of local news articles.

Stories are drawn from our daily intelligence briefs, which synthesize reporting from Uzbekistan's leading news sources to provide comprehensive situational awareness for international decision-makers.