Why is this important
Special economic zones, technoparks, and industrial zones remain key tools for industrial growth and investment attraction in Uzbekistan. Through such platforms, authorities try to develop production, exports, the IT sector, and create new jobs. Statistics also show which economic zone formats currently provide the largest volume of industrial production, investment, and services in the country.
What happened
- The National Statistics Committee has published data on the activities of special economic zones, small industrial zones, technoparks, clusters, and youth industrial and entrepreneurial zones for January–March 2026.
- As of April 1, there were 33 special economic zones, 396 small industrial zones, 27 technoparks, 349 clusters, and 143 youth industrial and entrepreneurial zones operating in Uzbekistan.
- Specialized economic zones included 1,116 enterprises, small industrial zones 3,098 enterprises, technoparks 3,680 enterprises, clusters 383 enterprises, and youth industrial and entrepreneurial zones 1,157 enterprises.
Numbers and facts
- In January–March 2026, the volume of industrial products produced by enterprises in special economic zones amounted to 14 trillion soums.
- This figure reached 5.2 trillion soums in small industrial zones, 779.6 billion soums in technoparks, 9.7 trillion soums in clusters, and 240.6 billion soums in youth industrial and entrepreneurial zones.
- The largest volume of industrial production is recorded specifically in special economic zones. Compared to the same period last year, the figure increased by 31.4%.
- The volume of fixed capital investments in the FEZ amounted to 2.6 trillion soums. This figure reached 545.9 billion soums in technoparks, 531.4 billion soums in clusters, and 180.4 billion soums in small industrial zones.
- At the end of the reporting period, 55.9 thousand people were employed at enterprises in special economic zones, 55.3 thousand in technoparks, 52.1 thousand in clusters, and 41.5 thousand in small industrial zones.
- Between January and March, IT Park participants exported services worth $191.8 million, which is $38.5 million more than a year earlier. The volume of market services provided by IT Park reached 9.4 trillion soums, and investments in fixed assets increased to 500.5 billion soums compared to 151.6 billion soums a year earlier.
- Among industries in special economic zones, the largest share of production was occupied by the production of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers at 28.8%. This is followed by metallurgy (18.4%) and food production (9.3%).
- In small industrial zones, textile products accounted for 16.1%, coke and petroleum products for 14.5%, and the metallurgical industry for 10.1%.
Context
- The growth of production and investment in special economic zones shows that this format remains the primary industrial driver for large-scale production projects.
- At the same time, the active development of technology parks and IT parks indicates a gradual strengthening of the technological and service sector in the economy.
- The high share of the automotive, metallurgical, and textile industries indicates which sectors currently form the basis of industrial production within economic zones.
- Expanding the number of enterprises and jobs also means a further shift in focus toward production localization and the development of export-oriented sites.
