President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Monday that private companies are being brought into the building of New Tashkent more slowly than the project allows, even as the state pours significant funds into infrastructure, a stadium, a university and a library.

Speaking at a meeting with investors and businesses in New Tashkent, Mirziyoyev said more than $2 billion has been invested in the new city in the three years since the project began.

Active construction has yet to start on the 28 lots allocated to investors, he said. Blaming a lack of funds or investor interest would be wrong, he said, citing outdated requirements, lengthy permitting procedures and agencies that act as inspectors rather than partners.

“An investor will not wait. If he doesn’t feel supported and protected, he will take his money to another market,” he said. The whole process, from allocating land to launching a project, needs to be reviewed, he added.

Two-thirds of the land is earmarked for housing, but the city must become more than a residential district, Mirziyoyev said.

“This place must become a self-sustaining economic center that attracts modern business, education, healthcare, tourism and services,” he said.

After the meeting, Mirziyoyev is expected to attend a ceremony to commission and start construction on several new facilities, his press secretary, Sherzod Asadov, said.

A total of 20,000 hectares has been allocated for the New Tashkent project. Construction is under way on more than 1,000 hectares, mostly state-funded, while businesses have received 94 hectares. Projects worth $50 billion are planned on 6,000 hectares in the first phase, and the investment potential could reach $200 billion with the new airport. The average price per hectare has risen from under 10 billion soums in 2024 to 19 billion soums.