President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the project during his visit to Khorezm region on August 17. The development is intended to ease pressure on the historic Ichan-Kala complex, create new tourist routes and services, and encourage visitors to stay longer in the region.
The project will cover 12.3 hectares and combine Khorezm’s architectural heritage with modern urban planning. Its design is based on centuries-old urban planning traditions of Khorezm, including the historical layout and street network of ancient Vazir, which became the first capital of the Khiva Khanate in 1511.
The complex will include hotels, a museum with historical and contemporary exhibits, restaurants serving national and international cuisine, retail facilities and other service businesses.
A substantial part of the site will be reserved for green spaces and pedestrian areas free of vehicle traffic. The plans also include walking alleys, cascading fountains and internal canals. Parking areas will feature canopies fitted with solar panels.
The new tourist town is expected to help diversify Khiva’s tourism offering while reducing the concentration of visitors in Ichan-Kala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project also envisages thousands of new jobs and additional recreational areas.
Khiva’s tourism infrastructure has expanded significantly in recent years. According to the presidential administration, 280 hotels and guesthouses have been built in the city over the past nine years, quadrupling accommodation capacity, while 11 new tourism facilities have been commissioned. The number of foreign tourists has increased tenfold over the past five years.
The project follows the development of other major tourism facilities in and around Khiva. Last year, President Mirziyoyev inaugurated the Arda Khiva tourist complex, built on 25 hectares along Lake Gauk-Kul. Plans for the area also included green spaces around the 150-hectare lake.
