Uzbekistan is preparing to build New Karshi, a planned urban centre in Kashkadarya Region designed initially for half a million residents and intended to accommodate up to one million people in the longer term. The project reflects the region’s accelerating urbanisation and rising demand for housing, while also creating a new platform for business, tourism and international events.
A new urban hub on Karshi’s outskirts
The city will occupy 5,200 hectares on the boundary of Karshi, Kukdala and Karshi districts, between the A-378 Samarkand – Guzar road and the 4R-79 route to Shakhrisabz. Its layout is to follow green-city and smart-city principles, indicating an emphasis on modern infrastructure, more efficient urban management and planned development rather than the gradual expansion of existing neighbourhoods.
Regional government offices and other state institutions are expected to move to New Karshi. The project also includes a congress hall, concert venues, hotels, shopping facilities and business centres. Once developed, the city is intended to host major international forums on a scale comparable with events held in Samarkand and Bukhara.
Authorities have given the project two months for the preparation of its master plan, with established architectural firms expected to take part. The government will allocate 20 billion soums, approximately $1.6 million, for this stage. Although the initial concept is based on a population of 500,000, the city is to be planned as a major centre capable of accommodating up to one million residents over time.
New Nasaf to combine tourism and leisure
A second development, the 235-hectare New Nasaf ecological complex, will begin in Karshi District. The project is scheduled to be implemented in four stages. The first will cover 30 hectares and include a craftsmen’s settlement and a dedicated tourist area.
Later phases are expected to add hotels, restaurants, shops, a museum, an aqua park and children’s playgrounds, as well as an artificial lake for boating. Together, the planned facilities are designed to turn the site into a mixed tourism and leisure destination rather than a purely residential development.
Part of a wider expansion of Karshi
The two projects are being advanced against the backdrop of population growth and expanding urban demand in Kashkadarya. Karshi’s own master plan, approved in 2025, envisages almost doubling the city’s population by 2042, from 283,000 to 470,000 residents.
For international companies in construction, architecture, urban planning, hospitality, furniture, interiors and related manufacturing, the plans signal a substantial future pipeline of projects in southern Uzbekistan. Potential opportunities will range from master planning and smart-city systems to hotels, congress facilities, retail and business interiors, public spaces, leisure venues and locally produced furnishings. At the same time, the scale of the proposals makes the quality of feasibility studies, transport connections, utilities planning and phased investment decisions particularly important for companies assessing entry into the market.
