Uzbekistan will end the practice of choosing products in public procurement solely on the lowest price and will count electricity use, repairs and servicing over a product’s service life, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s office said today, Nov. 9.
Presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov released the details after a meeting between Mirziyoyev and representatives of the electrical engineering industry, entrepreneurs and investors. The new “life-cycle cost” approach will be deployed to assess total costs, alongside the initial purchase price.
The change follows a test purchase that compared two 40-kilowatt transformers. The imported unit was 400,000 soums cheaper than the local one, but it consumed 10% more electricity and its repair costs were four times higher.
Uzbekistan buys 10 trillion soums’ worth of electrical products through public procurement each year.
Starting Jan. 1, 2027, three-year procurement plans will be announced in advance, letting entrepreneurs assess demand, expand production, buy equipment and attract investors. All state orders have also been consolidated on a single platform, replacing the four or five that suppliers previously had to monitor.
The meeting also addressed access to international finance. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has said it is ready to allocate $2 billion to $3 billion for industrial enterprises and to cover part of the cost of assessing their operations. The state will cover the remaining assessment costs and international consultants’ fees, with up to $50,000 per enterprise from the Trade Development Company.
Five electrical manufacturers have already raised a combined $80 million from the bank: Artikul Asia and Maxcopper in Tashkent city, Techno Cable Group and Vades Group in Tashkent province, and Andijan Kabel in Andijan.
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