Plans for the economic development of the Syrdarya region have been discussed.

In recent years, the region has seen some progress in areas such as energy, construction, and entrepreneurship. Following the President's visit to the Saykhunabad district last year, a new support model for household farms and small business projects was implemented.

However, the lack of initiative from leaders hinders the development of industry, trade, and services. Notably, the service sector's share in the Syrdarya region's economy remains the lowest in the country. The poverty rate exceeds 11 percent, and the number of unemployed individuals reaches 22,000.

Today, global economic conditions are changing rapidly. In this context, regions that actively study trends, seek new opportunities, and effectively utilize internal resources gain a competitive advantage.

To this end, proposals have been developed to increase investment volumes and improve the business environment in the Syrdarya region, reduce poverty levels, and effectively utilize the region's transit potential.

Specifically, plans are in place to establish industrial zones covering nearly 900 hectares. This is expected to attract $5 billion in investments and create over 20,000 new jobs. The projects will be located in Syrdarya, Shirint, Bayavut, Khavast, Mirzaabad, Gulistan, Akaltyn, and Sardoba.

Geographically, the region is situated in the central part of Uzbekistan, where international highways M-39, M-34, A-373, and A-376 intersect, with 311,000 vehicles passing through daily. Entrepreneurs are ready to open hundreds of trade and service points along these roads.

In total, the creation of 500,000 square meters of trade and service areas is planned, which will provide employment for 50,000 individuals.

Due to favorable soil and climatic conditions, the region has high potential for growing cotton, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Consequently, areas for potatoes, onions, raspberries, currants, and cherries will be expanded. Processing enterprises and exporters will be assigned to household plots, field edges, and areas adjacent to canals, totaling 38,000 hectares.

Additionally, in eight districts of the region, it is planned to convert 25,000 hectares of low-profitability land for rice cultivation. To support rice farming households, they will be allowed to export 50 percent of their harvest.

There are over a thousand houses built more than 50 years ago in the region. As part of the renovation program, modern residential complexes with a total capacity of 15,000 apartments are planned to be constructed in their place. The positive experience of the cities of Margilan and the Dustlik district will be studied.

To ensure the availability of new housing, developers will be granted tax and customs incentives. Furthermore, $100 million will be allocated for the modernization of roads, electrical networks, housing stock, irrigation infrastructure, and the renovation of kindergartens, schools, and other social facilities in the region.

It has been instructed to allocate the necessary funds and complete the work on providing the city of Gulistan with uninterrupted drinking water by July 1 of this year. Proposals to expand the territories of the cities of Gulistan and Shirint to accelerate urbanization processes have been approved.

Overall, due to the opportunities reviewed, it is planned to attract $2 billion in investments this year, increasing export volumes to $500 million. As a result, more than 16,000 new jobs are expected to be created, and the poverty rate is projected to decrease to 7.4 percent.