Digital Uzbekistan

• Main article: Uzbekistan

• ICT market of Uzbekistan
• E-Government of Uzbekistan
• Cellular communications (Uzbekistan market)
• Economy of Uzbekistan

Chronicle

2025

Asian Development Bank allocates $125 million for digitalization of water supply

Uzbekistan has raised $125 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to digitalize the water supply system. This became known at the end of May 2025.

According to the press service of the President of Uzbekistan, the head of state was presented with information on the ongoing work to expand the networks of drinking water supply and sewerage. Within the framework of the project, 4.8 thousand "smart" meters and about 3 thousand telemetry systems will be installed on large water bodies and trunk pipelines in five years.

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Фото: Freepik

In 2025, it is planned to lay 1,619 kilometers of water supply networks and 521 kilometers of sewage networks, as well as build and reconstruct 162 objects. As a result, 715 thousand people will receive access to clean drinking water for the first time, another 675 thousand will be covered by sewage services.

According to the press service of the President of Uzbekistan, at the moment 81% of settlements are provided with drinking water, and coverage of the drainage system is 20%. The direction of development of water supply is extremely important for the quality of life and health of the country's population.

Together with international financial institutions, 21 projects in the field of water supply and sewerage are being implemented. In 2025, it is planned to carry out work in the amount of $800 million and put into operation 138 hydraulic facilities.

An effective pre-project financing mechanism has been worked out with the Asian Development Bank and the German Development Bank. Due to the fact that contractors and designers are selected in advance, the start of practical implementation of projects is accelerated. It was noted that in the future it would be appropriate to apply this approach to all water supply projects.

Taking into account the active development of international cooperation and public-private partnership in this area, the need to train specialists who meet the new requirements was emphasized. Digitalization of the water supply system requires qualified personnel to maintain modern equipment.^[1]

World Bank allocated Uzbekistan $35 million for digitalization

The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved the provision of a preferential loan to Uzbekistan in the amount of $35 million for the implementation of a project to improve the access of citizens and the private sector to geospatial data. The funds will be used to further digitalize public services and territorial development throughout the country. This was reported by the press service of the international financial organization on May 19, 2025.

According to the press service of the bank, the government of Uzbekistan will additionally allocate about $5.7 million to co-finance the project. The total amount of funding for the initiative will be $40.7 million.

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Фото: Unsplash

The project aims to address the challenges of rapid urbanization in the country. In Uzbekistan, more than 50% of the population lives in cities, which has increased the burden on land resources, basic infrastructure and public services, including education, health care and public transport. Intense urban growth has led to a shortage of detailed geospatial data on land use and infrastructure.

The lack of geospatial information limits the ability of the authorities to effectively plan and manage territorial development, as well as impedes the realization of the economic potential of citizens and entrepreneurs. The private sector faces difficulties due to limited access to reliable data on the availability of land resources and the state of transport, water and energy infrastructure.

The lack of relevant data reduces the investment attractiveness of the territories, since it is difficult for entrepreneurs to assess risks and determine promising places to start a business. The lack of information undermines investor confidence and limits private sector participation in key sectors of the economy.

To solve these problems, the Uzbek authorities in 2021 created a legal basis for the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NIPD). The system is designed to promote informed planning and sustainable territorial development through transparent collection, storage, management and exchange of geospatial data.^[2]

2022-2023: Fintech, health care, power. What is included in Uzbekistan's digital transformation strategy

As of the end of 2023, active digital transformation continues in Uzbekistan, affecting all key areas - from healthcare, retail and fintech to industry, agriculture and logistics. The key achievements of the republic in the field of digitalization are stated in the materials with which TAdviser got acquainted in mid-August 2024.

It is noted that in 2020 the Digital Uzbekistan - 2030 strategy was adopted, providing for more than 220 priority projects, including the improvement of the e-government system, the further development of the domestic software market and, the information technology organization of IT parks in all regions of the republic and an increase in the number of qualified specialists. Thanks to the initiatives being implemented, Uzbekistan in the e-government rating UN in 2022 rose by 18 positions and became one of the countries with a "high/very high level of development." And in the rating "Government Readiness Index for Artificial Intelligence," which was formed by the British organization Oxford Insights, Uzbekistan improved the indicator from 158th to 79th place.

One of the important directions of the digital transformation of the republic is the development of the telecommunications region. As of the end of 2022, 95% of Uzbekistan's residents had access to mobile Internet. The share of residents with a high-speed connection to the Network reached 54%, and the share of organizations with Internet access was 19%. According to the Telecommunications Infrastructure Index (TII), Uzbekistan ranks 19th out of 220 countries in terms of the cost of broadband internet.

It is planned to bring the share of electronic public services to 100% and the introduction of the Mobile ID identification system when providing them. Another significant project is the "Digital Passport of Citizens": instead of paper identity cards, citizens will be able to present their digital versions in a special OneID Mobile application, which will be legally identical to their physical counterparts. The digital passport is supposed to be used in the provision of a number of demanded services:

• Verification of documents for the right to use and control vehicles;
• Flights by domestic airlines and railway trips within the country;
• Registration of visitors in hotels, sanatoriums, holiday homes and other similar institutions;
• Provision of public services and receipt of services of mobile operators and Internet providers;
• Provision of services of commercial banks and insurance companies;
• Receiving medical services;
• Granting access to students in higher education systems.

In the fintech sphere, events are being held for the widespread introduction of modern information and communication technologies, automation of business processes of commercial banks and the expansion of remote banking services. By the end of 2023, 22 million people, or more than half of the country's population, use remote banking services in Uzbekistan. The volume of online payments and the number of such transactions continue to grow steadily. In order to develop contactless payments, the HUMO retail system has been created, which fully complies with international standards. It is said that the banking sector, with the support of the state and fintech companies, is a driver of the digitalization of services and services.

Digital solutions are getting deeper into the business processes of oil and gas companies. Such enterprises are actively implementing big data technologies, including AI and machine learning, industrial Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, smart materials and 3D printing tools . Digital field twins, robotic systems and drones are used, which helps to automate many tasks and increase operational efficiency.^[3]

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