Uzbekistan is set to create a new special industrial zone named “Nurabad technopark” in the Samarkand region, as per President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s decree signed on August 4, 2025. This initiative aims to attract more than $1.1 billion in direct foreign investment over the next five years, targeting the launch of high-tech, modern, and quality industrial projects. The new zone, sprawling across 115.3 hectares in the Sazagon area of Nurabad district, shall be managed by the foreign company New Vision Investment Development, marking an innovative governance approach for such a territory in the country.
The Nurabad technopark will break new ground by featuring the construction of three- to four-story production facilities, enabling an efficient and dense industrial capacity on a limited land footprint. Previously a part of the Urgut Free Economic Zone, this area has been separated to form an independent entity focused on industrial modernization and investment climate enhancement for 2025–2030. Targeted outcomes include creating over 5,100 permanent jobs through expanded manufacturing capabilities.
Strategic intent and regional context
Known for its rich history and emerging economic potential, Samarkand’s development is further advanced by this strategic industrial expansion. The government’s decision to appoint New Vision Investment Development, a foreign company, to oversee the technopark illustrates Uzbekistan’s openness to international partnership models fostering investment inflows and technological upgrades. This move aligns with broader national goals to diversify and upscale local industrial output, stimulate employment, and integrate advanced manufacturing technologies into the region’s economic fabric.
Comparable ventures already exist in Uzbekistan, such as the Zaamin technopark in Jizzakh region, where the inaugural phase addresses 31 projects spanning construction materials, machinery, electronics, logistics, and raw material processing sectors. In July 2025, the first operational enterprise there was launched by Chinese company Xinjiang Honglin Tiandi, producing concrete products, thus demonstrating the successful model that Nurabad aims to replicate or surpass.
Implications for international business and industry sectors
For international companies eyeing expansion or market entry in Uzbekistan, the Nurabad technopark offers a promising platform to invest in advanced industrial production with strong governmental backing and proactive regulatory support. This industrial zone could serve as a hub for foreign manufacturers and suppliers keen on tapping into Uzbekistan’s evolving market and regional trade corridors.
The focus on attracting high-tech and quality production projects signals opportunities for collaboration and technology transfer, particularly appealing for companies specializing in sophisticated manufacturing and construction-related goods. Moreover, the integration of foreign expertise through New Vision Investment Development’s management is expected to enhance project efficiency, innovation, and infrastructure development within the zone.
Overall, the establishment of Nurabad technopark not only strengthens Samarkand’s industrial potential but also sends a clear message of Uzbekistan’s commitment to nurturing an investor-friendly environment, diversifying its economic base, and facilitating modern manufacturing and export-oriented growth. Such projects create new prospects for supply chains, employment, and international cooperation in the Central Asian macroregional context.
