Gov’t plans to reduce the number of traffic accidents with serious consequences by 1.5 times by 2030

It is planned to reduce the number of traffic accidents with serious consequences in Uzbekistan by at least 50% by 2030. This is indicated in the project “Uzbekistan -2030” strategy announced for discussion.

According to the draft decision on measures to implement the strategy in 2023, it is planned to reduce the number of accidents with serious consequences by 10% in 2024.

The target indicator for 2023 was not included in the projects. In February, the Road Safety Service set a goal of reducing the number of accidents and deaths by 15% in 2023. But in practice, the opposite is observed.

According to the figures given at the meeting chaired by the President on July 28, about 4,000 car accidents took place in the first half of the year, in which 873 people died and more than 3,500 people were injured.

This is significantly higher than last year. In the first half of 2022, 784 people died and 2775 people were injured in 355 accidents.

At last week’s meeting, the President reprimanded the head of the MIA Road Safety Service (RSS), Olim Saidov. Heads of the RSS of Jizzakh, Surkhandarya and Khorezm regions were removed from their posts.

The draft strategy “Uzbekistan – 2030” also envisages full equipping of unregulated pedestrian crossings with two or more lanes with traffic lights within 7 years.

In this regard, indicators for 2023 have not been set. In 2024, it is planned to increase the level of equipped with traffic lights to 50% of unregulated pedestrian crossings with two or more lanes.

According to the strategy, the construction and management of highways will be transferred to the private sector. It is planned to develop a “roadmap” in this regard by September 2023.

The goal of reconstruction of 56,000 km of roads by 2030 with the participation of the private sector has also been set. Of this, 8,000 km of roads can be rebuilt in 2023 and 9,000 km – in 2024.

There is a plan to build a total of 5,500 km of cement-concrete paved roads from district centers to every rural settlement for 7 years. In this regard, the target indicators for 2023-2024 are not clear. Construction estimate documents for these roads may be ready by the end of this year.

A normative legal document will be developed to define the legal basis for the construction of toll roads and their use. It is envisaged that the first toll roads will be in “Tashkent-Samarkand” and “Tashkent-Andijan” routes. It is planned to complete the development of technical and economic bases of these projects in November 2023.

It is also planned to reach 90% of the level of provision of international highways with mobile internet. In this regard, the plan for 2023-2024 should be ready in October.