On April 29, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the presentation on plans for the development of the transport system of the city of Samarkand.

In the Development Strategy of Uzbekistan, the goal is to turn Samarkand into a million-plus city. To this end, this year the area of ​​the city will be expanded to 28 thousand hectares. In the next five years, new houses will be built on the Karasu massif, in the Shirin mahalla and on the territory behind the station, designed to accommodate 300 thousand people. It is also expected that the number of tourists will reach 5 million people.

All this requires a revision of the transport system, road network and infrastructure of the city.

Currently, 925 thousand people move daily along the roads of Samarkand, taking into account the permanently residing population and visitors from other regions. Most of them – 592 thousand – drive their own cars. More than 330 thousand people use public transport.

The presentation considered proposals developed with the participation of foreign and local experts.

They provide for the division of the public transport system into main, delivery and internal lines. In addition to the already existing routes, 40 new ones will be opened, including 5 express routes that will link the airport, the railway station and the historic center of the city. It is planned to install large-capacity buses on the line with the allocation of a separate lane for them on the central streets. In 2022, the city will receive 80, in 2023 – 100 electric buses. The number of stops will be increased. A transport department will be created as part of the city Government. From July 1, urban public transport will be subsidized from the budget of the Samarkand region.

The head of state paid special attention to the introduction of advanced technologies and digitalization of traffic management.

– Life has accelerated, the mobility of people has increased. But public transport remains the same. The problem of traffic jams cannot be solved by expanding roads. Priority should be given to public transport. Look at the world experience. It is necessary to increase the capacity of streets by installing “smart” traffic lights and online traffic control. In the future, we will do this in all our cities. Samarkand should serve as a model in this, the President said.

It is proposed to launch an electric train connecting the Pastdargom and Bulungur districts of Samarkand region with Samarkand city.

Information is also provided on plans to improve the road and transport infrastructure. This year, 160 kilometers of roads will be repaired in Samarkand, construction of 5 overpasses will begin. 102 new stops will be organized and the existing ones put in order.

During the presentation, the work carried out by the special operational and installation unit of the Samarkand region was considered. It was noted that a digital traffic control system will be introduced at 49 intersections of Samarkand, modern traffic lights will be installed at 140 intersections, and modern road signs will be installed on the central streets. As a result, waiting time at traffic lights will be reduced by 31 percent, driving time by 36 percent, and traffic speed will increase by 17 percent.

The importance of training, advanced training and broadening the horizons of workers of road construction organizations and traffic police officers, recruitment on a competitive basis is indicated.

It should be noted that the “INVEXI” LLC acts as a consultant to the Government of the Samarkand region and the Department of Transport of the Samarkand region in the framework of the “Green Cities” program under the Project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the supply of electric buses and the development of the corresponding infrastructure of the city of Samarkand.