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Foreign investors will have limited access to agricultural land in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan will review the procedure for providing agricultural land to foreign investors. About this on April 21it was saidduring a presentation to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
As noted at the presentation, in the future only the secondary lease mechanism will operate for them - through the directorates of regional khokimiyats, within the framework of projects with an investment volume of at least $10 million and subject to the involvement of unused, rain-fed and pasture lands in circulation.
Justice Minister Akbar Tashkulov confirmed that these approaches received the support of the president. At the same time, additional instructions were given - first of all, to create clear implementation mechanisms.
According to him, when distributing agricultural land, priority will be given to the domestic labor market.
“Given the limited agricultural land, priority should be given to providing employment for citizens of Uzbekistan. Therefore, a secondary lease mechanism is being introduced for foreign investors,” Tashkulov noted.
At the same time, the authorities intend to improve conditions for large investors by providing them with longer-term guarantees.
“For large investors, guarantees of land rights are important. In this regard, the President approved a proposal to increase the lease term of non-agricultural land from 25 to 49 years,” the minister said.
At the same time, it was proposed to establish a single lease period for all types of land, including for foreign investors implementing industrial and construction projects, at 49 years.
As noted at the presentation, in parallel it is planned to stipulate that participation in agricultural land auctions will be available only to local farmers and entrepreneurs. A number of categories of land - defense, border, historical and cultural and forest - will remain available exclusively to citizens of the country.
Special attention is paid to the problems faced by investors. In particular, the processes of changing the category of land and calculating compensation still remain paper-based, which delays deadlines and causes business dissatisfaction.
In this regard, the task has been set to completely digitalize procedures, as well as introduce a system for assessing the efficiency of land use, taking into account their intended purpose, water consumption and soil quality.
“Currently, the transfer of agricultural land to the non-agricultural category is carried out by decisions of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers, but a clear procedure for implementing this process has not been defined. In new projects, it is proposed to introduce a transparent electronic system without the human factor,” said the head of the Ministry of Justice.
In addition, it was proposed to simplify the renewal of land leases. In particular, in the absence of debts and disputes, the lease term for agricultural land can be extended up to 30 years, and for non-agricultural land - up to 49 years through electronic platforms and government service centers.
“In general, based on the practice of applying legislation, problematic issues are identified, and proposals for amendments are prepared on them. At the same time, guarantees are strengthened for citizens and entrepreneurs purchasing land: after the purchase, the land becomes their property, and their rights are protected by the Constitution,” emphasized Akbar Tashkulov.
In Uzbekistanare planningtransfer another 100 thousand hectares of agricultural land under the new system - leased for 49 years with the right to freely choose crops. It also provides for the sale of plots for industrial plantations and the expansion of auctions.
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