Kun.uz reporter accompanied the Tashkent mayor Shavkat Umrzakov on his visit to the places and asked about the capital’s drainage system, ecology, public transport, communal infrastructure and his responsibility to the population. According to him, with the current works, Tashkent should enter the list of the world’s most livable cities in the next 5 years.
“What I am most afraid of is not having an answer to the citizens’ question”
Shavkat Umrzakov says that the thing that bothers him the most before meetings with residents is not being able to answer citizens’ questions.
He stated that it is shameful for a leader to be ignorant of the problems raised by the people or not to deal with their solutions.
“If some citizen is applying, but I or the authorities do not know about this problem or are not dealing with its solution, it is a shame for us. This is what I am afraid of,” said the city leader.
The drainage system: a $400 million problem
Speaking about the floods observed in Tashkent after heavy rains, the mayor announced that after taking office in 2023, he first studied the drainage system.
“After starting work in 2023, we first developed the master plan of the drainage system of the city of Tashkent. Today, the city has a clear master plan in this direction. According to estimates, about 400 million dollars of investment will be required for the complete modernization of the system.
The problem is not only in funding, but also in the management system. We need to forecast water flows month by month, day by day, plan exactly where to collect them, where to store them and how to manage them.
For this purpose, we have started the project of construction of 12 artificial lakes. These lakes will allow the collection, storage and technical use of rainwater in the future.
During our recent visit to China, we studied the experience of water management in Tianjin and signed cooperation documents. We also want to use the experience of Dubai and Singapore. There, processed water is not discharged into the river, but is used for technical needs: irrigation of green areas, communal services, car washes and other purposes. This is our goal: to create a system of efficient use of recycled water.
According to Umrzakov, in the future, rainwater will be managed on the basis of full calculation, and a system of water storage and reuse will be established. It will take at least three years to do this.
1000 hectare urban forest
Touching on the issue of ecology, Shavkat Umurzakov said that so far no proud results have been achieved in this field, but big projects have been started. It is planned to create a park on an area of 300 hectares in the city by the end of next year. In the medium term, it is planned to create a 1,000-hectare urban forest in Tashkent.
Also, construction of 12 artificial lakes with a total area of 150 hectares has started in the city.
“The station should be a public space, not a sales point”
The mayor explained that previous mayors made different decisions about bus stops and that the shops at the stops are being removed by his decision.
“Imagine if I or the district governor make a decision and turn the station into a shop, the public will immediately object. Because the station also has its own standards and requirements. Today, there are about 2,500 stations in Tashkent, and we plan to increase their number to 3,500. But more than a thousand of the existing stations do not meet modern requirements.
I do not want to judge the leaders before me. The politics and approach of that time was different. Today, our president has set us a clear task: to turn Tashkent into a pedestrian-friendly city. That is why we are revising the public transport infrastructure. Practice shows that problems arise for buses when stops are converted into shops. Cars stop in front of the station, the bus lane is busy, waste increases, inconveniences arise. In some cases, there were even cases where passengers were left on the street because the stations were locked.
That is why we are building new stations based on international standards. They are equipped with security key, internet, bus schedule and other modern amenities. Even vending machines will be installed to buy water or snacks. However, each such station requires funds from 10,000 to 20,000 dollars. Therefore, we organized the project on the basis of public-private partnership. The government does not spend, and the private partner takes care of the maintenance and management of the station. It earns revenue through advertising or vending services.
At the same time, other places are offered to entrepreneurs who set up shop at the stations. The main goal is to create a comfortable environment for residents and public transport.”
During the interview, Shavkat Umrzakov said that there would be no problems in the city regarding “svet”, gas and water, that it was his mistake to aim for Tashkent to enter the TOP-50 or TOP-100 list of the most convenient cities to live in the world, and that it was his mistake to communicate with journalists very little. You can see the full interview in the video.
