At a session of the Samarkand province council of people's deputies Tuesday, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev outlined the province's achievements and new development goals.

"This great land, steeped in millennia of history and values, and flourishing daily thanks to modern architectural traditions, is consistently fortifying its place as the world civilization heritage," he said.

Among the major reforms, the head of state highlighted the completed Eternal City complex, the improvement of more than 40 sacred pilgrimage sites, the completed new Samarkand International Airport, and the opening of dozens of international hotel brands.

According to him, these projects have elevated the province's tourism potential to a new level.

In recent years, Samarkand has become a major political, economic, tourist, and business center, hosting numerous global events. This year alone, it hosted more than 40 prestigious international forums, including the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference.

Investments of $1 billion in tourism and related industries have increased tourist flow to the province sevenfold compared to 2016. Tourism exports reached $600 million.

Efforts will be made to expand the Imam Bukhari Mausoleum to 45 hectares, a 10,000-visitor mosque and an innovative museum projects, and of dozens of hotels and guesthouses around the complex are on the table.

According to him, major tourism companies from Indonesia and Malaysia are invited to manage the hotels leading to tourist flow increasing significantly.

The president underlined the rapid pace of socioeconomic transformations in the province:

• over the past eight years, $12 billion in investment has been attracted;
• 600,000 permanent jobs have been created;
• the number of entrepreneurs has doubled;
• the number of manufacturing enterprises has increased by 1.5 times, and the volume of industry has increased by 1.7 times;

Businesses from 55 countries have invested in the province, and the number of foreign-invested enterprises has approached 700.

In 2024 and the first 10 months of this year, 15 million sqms of residential and commercial real estate were built in the province. Samarkand construction companies annually build 4.5 million square meters of facilities throughout the country.

The gross province product will increase from 23 trillion soums in 2016 to 120 trillion soums in 2025.

Mirziyoyev noted that these steps have significantly improved the quality of life for families in the province. During the reporting period, 3,200 km of water and sewer networks were built at a cost of 2 trillion soums.

The president stated that the province should become a platform for reducing unemployment and poverty, increasing investment and exports, reducing production costs, and improving energy efficiency.

"To achieve this, district mayors must, based on the specific characteristics of their territories, analyze their existing staff, reduce ineffective ones, hire managers and specialists from abroad, and transition to a new work format," he said.