On January 31, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited research institutions on Olimlar Street in Tashkent, the presidential press service reported.

There Mirziyoyev laid the capsule for the construction of a new university campus. It will become a single complex, established on the basis of four institutions under the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources – institutes of geology and geophysics, hydrogeology and engineering geology, mineral resources, geology and exploration of oil and gas.

This institution will be a scientific and educational cluster. The economic and technical capacities and academic potential of four institutes will be combined, and the institution will receive state-of-the-art equipment. Curricula will be elaborated jointly with Saint Petersburg Mining University as well as other prestigious universities and research centers of the world.

While at the stone-laying ceremony, President Mirziyoyev talked with staff of research institutions, scholars and young research fellows.

“Once, the Uzbek geology used to be one of the most advanced, competitive branches of science. Specialists used to come over even from abroad to study our geologists’ experience. But over the past thirty years, this area had been left unattended, we have lost the development potential. Scientists’ motivation have gone astray, nor has a new generation of specialists formed. Yet geological research is essential for all sectors of the economy. Just as a patient cannot undergo surgery without a diagnosis, neither can industry thrive without geology. Today we are laying the foundation for a scientific and educational institution, which will accelerate the development of the sphere,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev suggested.

The President got acquainted with the construction projects of the University of Geological Sciences, shared his vision on the erection of teaching blocks and establishment of laboratories building on foreign experience, on outfitting them with equipment in accordance with their specifics, and on the efficient use of the territories allocated for the purpose.

“By September 1, 2020, construction of the university buildings will be completed, and by December 30 its research laboratories and dormitories will be commissioned,” Kun.uz correspondent quoted Shavkat Mirziyoyev as saying.