President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a video conference on September 23 to discuss measures to develop the construction industry and the building materials sector. The President's press service reported this.
Construction is a sector that gives a big push to the development of all areas of the economy. Every project increases the demand for building materials and equipment, as well as for workers and specialists. New complexes lead to the creation of new jobs, infrastructure, and services.
In the last seven years, the building materials sector has received 9 billion dollars in investments, nearly 5,000 new enterprises have been launched, and 94,000 permanent jobs have been created. Production has doubled, and the number of companies with an annual turnover of more than 100 billion sums has increased to over 150.
In the last five years, the volume of construction has doubled. Due to the introduction of new products worth 650 million dollars, the share of imports in construction has decreased from 31 percent to 25 percent.
The export market for construction materials has expanded to 58 countries. More than 20 trade depots and over 50 stores have been opened abroad. This year, the export volume is expected to reach 1 billion dollars.
However, there are also problems in the sector, yet opportunities are abundant. At the meeting, our state leader analyzed them and proposed new initiatives and tasks.
Today, our country has 7 basalt companies with a capacity of 140,000 tons. As a result of the wide use of this product in construction, the energy consumption of new residential and social buildings has been reduced by up to 20 percent.
However, by using materials such as sun-reflecting glass and vermiculite mixes, energy consumption can be reduced by another factor of two. Utilizing fibrous paneling on the facades of buildings also yields good results. The necessary cement and enriched sand are abundantly available in our country.
Officials were instructed to produce such important construction materials in our country. In particular, it was mentioned that investment projects worth 20 million dollars at the “Quartz” plant in Kuvasoy and 10 million dollars at the glass factory in Jizzakh are to be implemented.
In general, in collaboration with entrepreneurs, 350 new projects worth 3.5 billion dollars are planned. They foresee the construction and operation of these projects, aiming to employ 50,000 citizens from low-income families.
Reducing energy consumption in the production of construction materials is very important. This affects their cost and demand.
In the last two years, production in this sector has increased by 1.2 times, and due to such measures, energy consumption and energy intensity have decreased by 1.3 and 1.6 times respectively. For example, at “Qizilqumcement,” the reconstruction of heat exchange equipment has saved 37 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
Today, advanced foreign enterprises are actively employing technology to generate electricity by recycling thermal energy. Based on this, it was stated that it is possible to save 300 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually by completing energy audits in 34 high-energy-consuming enterprises.
Currently, of 170 types of construction materials produced in our country, the internal demand for 97 items is fully satisfied. However, projects similar to those already existing have been planned without a full market analysis.
Therefore, a list of construction materials with saturated market demand will be announced. Proposals for new products, based on internal and external demand, will be prepared and published on an open portal. Projects will be reviewed by the scientific-technical council of the “Uzsanatqurilishmateriallari” association. A testing laboratory based on the Korean experience will be established under this association.
Instructions were given to auction the identified sand and gravel areas and to strengthen control over the illegal use of non-ferrous metal mines.
During the meeting, urgent issues in the construction sector were also discussed.
In the last seven years, nearly 100 billion dollars worth of constructions have been carried out in our country. The volume of work in this sector is growing by an average of 7-8 percent annually.
The construction industry worldwide is developing day by day, with new technologies and innovations being introduced. However, outdated standards and approaches still prevail in our country.
To avoid falling behind modern methods, it was emphasized that urban planning standards and regulations need to be regularly updated.
It's known that master plans for small areas are being developed to promote tourism, trade, and services in local areas. For instance, activities are rapidly progressing in Bukhara and Navoi regions, and the initial lands have been sold to entrepreneurs. However, in some regions, this process is currently slow.
The governors of the regions are tasked with speeding up the implementation of 48 comprehensive development and urbanization plans, as well as 20 plans for establishing tourism zones and 68 plans for expanding trade and services along the roads.
Special attention was given to the quality of constructions. It was noted that some sloppy projects are causing public discontent.
It was determined to establish daily supervision for every construction. For this purpose, headquarters will be organized in the regional departments of the Inspection for Supervision in Construction, and Housing and Utility Services. Every building constructed at the state's expense will be equipped with video cameras, providing online data to the inspection.
Moreover, neighborhood chairpersons and public oversight will be strengthened regarding illegal constructions. Information boards with a “QR” code will be placed in front of every building under construction. Without this, the construction will be considered illegal.
Officials were instructed to create a new digitized control system for construction supervision and improve the activity of the relevant inspection.
Complaints are frequent about the activities of the Urban Planning Councils established in each region. Reviewing and approving submitted projects takes months.
Therefore, it was said that processes related to these councils would be fully digitized. All projects will now be electronically submitted through the “Transparent Construction” platform. Council members will electronically approve the project with the lower system on this platform. The review period will not exceed 15 days.
There have been instances of deception and misunderstandings in housing construction. Therefore, a guaranteed “escrow” system will now be introduced for purchasing housing.
Here, developers will organize the sale of the houses they are building through contracts with banks. People intending to buy an apartment will give their money not to the builder but directly to the bank. The banks, in turn, will provide the collected money as a resource to the builder. That is, banks will serve as a “bridge” between the builder and the buyer, guaranteeing the timely and quality construction and delivery of housing to its owner.
Officials were instructed to implement these new regulations step by step.
The quality of constructions also depends on the knowledge and skills of the employees. Therefore, a system for assessing the qualifications of workers in construction will be introduced.
This will define the skill level for professions and specific requirements for job positions. Candidates for these positions will be trained in professional education institutions. Those who learn independently or as apprentices and pass a proficiency examination will receive a certificate without formal education.
A similar system will also be applied for project organizations.
At the meeting, our state leader listened to the suggestions and considerations of entrepreneurs on the discussed issues. Instructions were given to officials on various suggestions, including processing local raw materials into marketable products, introducing a mandatory certification system to create a healthy competitive environment, and simplifying the process of hiring workers for construction.
