Competition Committee takes action over UZS 25 billion in public procurement violations

The investigations revealed significant breaches of Article 29 of the Law "On Competition," specifically identifying actions that restricted or could lead to the restriction of competition during the selection of the best proposals. The violations spanned multiple regions and sectors. In the Navoiy region, the improvement departments of Navbahor, Kanimekh, Nurata districts, and Navoiy city were flagged for numerous cases totaling over UZS 11.7 billion UZS. Significant violations were also recorded at the Main Road Departments of the Andijan and Surkhandarya regions, involving more than UZS 3.9 billion and UZS 1.7 billion respectively.

Other entities found in breach of the law include the "Hududgaz Komplektatsiya" unitary enterprise in the Tashkent region with a UZS 3 billion case, "Ko‘prikqurilish" JSC in Tashkent city, and various medical and educational departments in the Bukhara and Kashkadarya regions. In response, the Special Commission of the committee’s regional departments initiated cases against the purchasing organizations and applied appropriate enforcement measures. Mandatory instructions were also issued to rectify these violations and prevent future occurrences.

The scale of the issue is reflected in broader national statistics. In 2025 alone, 28,304 anti-competitive actions were identified within the public procurement system. According to the Competition Committee, 714 administrative offense protocols were filed against officials and forwarded to the courts for further action.

To combat these systemic issues, Uzbekistan is moving toward a more transparent and technology-driven procurement process. Starting March 1, 2026, a specialized electronic module powered by artificial intelligence will be launched on the public procurement information portal. This tool will automatically calculate the average market price of procurement items to prevent overpricing. Furthermore, beginning September 1, 2026, a new system will be introduced to evaluate participants based on their reliability level, ensuring that only trustworthy entities engage in state contracts.