Starting from April 17, Uzbekistan has launched a new season of the “Mening Yo’lim” (My Road) initiative within the framework of the Open Budget project. This program allows citizens to partake in allocating 312 billion soums by proposing road repair and construction projects within their local communities, as stated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s press office.

In order to leave a proposal, one should register on the Open Budget portal, fill in the application form and submit it. The initiative will be open until April 26. Voting will take place from April 27 to May 7. A total of 312 billion soums will be allocated to fund the projects.

At the time of publication, more than 1,200 proposals from 905 mahallas have already been registered on the portal.

my road, open budget, road repair

For example, a proposal was submitted to repair the road in “Pasurkhi” mahalla in Baisun district of Surkhandarya region for 1.2 billion soums.

my road, open budget, road repair

A resident of “Dustlik” mahalla, Karmanin District, Navoi Oblast, initiated repair of 4.5 km of road and demanded 950 million soums for it.

my road, open budget, road repair

In “Chinoq” mahalla of Chinoq village in Samarkand region’s Kushrabad district, 5.2 km of road needs repair.

Within the scope of the “My Road” project, a minimum of 50% of the funds designated for regional road repairs in district or city budgets are allocated, taking into consideration the perspectives and opinions of local citizens.

On road construction

In October 2021, Abdurahmon Abduvaliyev, Chairman of the Committee for Roads, announced that within the subsequent three years, Uzbekistan aims to eliminate all unpaved roads, currently spanning 29,000 km. Furthermore, he emphasized that, in collaboration with the Hokimiyats, all remaining public and inland roads will undergo comprehensive repairs over the next four years.

In 2021, 10.1 trillion soums were allocated from Uzbekistan’s state budget for the construction and repair of roads, as well as the operation and maintenance of road infrastructure. Territorial road development funds generated total revenues of 4.27 trillion soums in the same year, with expenditures amounting to slightly over 4.04 trillion soums.

The State Financial Control Committee disclosed 45 instances of unauthorized expenditure, totaling 34.57 billion soums, in road construction and repair projects during 2021 and the first half of 2022. The Senate subsequently observed a year-over-year increase in the number and value of prolonged projects, a growing trend of contract terminations between clients and contractors, and additional challenges within the sector.

The General Prosecutor’s Office reported that during the specified period, prosecutors' offices conducted 20 inspections of territorial funds, resulting in six submissions regarding identified legal violations. Consequently, 12 officials received warnings, 11 individuals faced disciplinary action, and 21 people were held administratively responsible. Additionally, 12 criminal cases were initiated in response to severe breaches of the law.