On May 25, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on ensuring sustainable functioning and consistent development of the transport industry.
According to the presidential press service, so far – since the beginning of quarantine – domestic transport enterprises have suffered a loss of 340 billion soums due to certain restrictions. And this figure will increase further until the stabilization of the epidemiological situation.
In this regard, a number of measures are being taken in the industry to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and economic support for enterprises.
“The joint stock companies Uzbekistan Airways and Uzbekistan Airports, the most affected by the quarantine, were granted deferred loans for $122 million and tax credits for more than 60 billion soums. Interest-free loans in the amount of $50 million were provided from the Anti-Crisis Fund as working capital,” the statement said.
Issues of ensuring the stable operation of the transport sector in the new conditions were discussed at the meeting. The Ministry of Transport was tasked with developing a business model to overcome the consequences of the pandemic for Uzbekistan Airways and Uzbekistan Airports.
The President gave instructions to enter the freight market on the Europe – China route, to optimize current and investment costs.
The meeting participants considered the issues of attracting new air carriers to the civil aviation market in order to increase competition, transfer Uzbekistan Airways to the management of a prestigious foreign company.
Plans to announce a tender for modernization of airports, to transfer the activities of the international airports of Andijan, Bukhara, Urgench and Karshi into a public-private partnership were pronounced.
