Demolition of the former building of the National Security Service kicked off in downtown Tashkent. Preparations for demolition have been ongoing in recent months - windows were removed in the building and internal structures were dismantled.
The building was erected in the 1950s. First, there was the Central City Polyclinic of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, then the KGB of the Uzbek SSR was located, then the National Security Service. In 2018, the NSS was transformed into the State Security Service and moved to a new location.
Earlier in October 2020, the President of Uzbekistan signed a decree on the sale of 15 state-owned facilities, including the former building of the National Security Service. In June 2021, the building was purchased for 210 billion soums, or US$ 18 million by the Metropol Group, which is owned by Daniyar Kamilov, the son of the former Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.
This spring, it became known that the Metropol Group signed an agreement with the Radisson Hotel Group to open a 22-story premium hotel, the Radisson Collection Hotel Tashkent, on the site. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2026.
Until the summer of 2021, the building had been on the National List of Real Estate Material Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan.
