President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ordered the construction of a new highway connecting Sokh district of Fergana province to the rest of the country. The directive was announced on April 9 by Jamshid Tursunov, Chairman of the Committee for Roads under the Ministry of Transport, following a high-level meeting chaired by the president.
"Together with design organizations, we will conduct on-site surveys and feasibility studies. We will also initiate negotiations with neighboring states regarding the implementation of this project," Tursunov stated. "We plan to move toward practical execution shortly, once concrete technical solutions are finalized."
The Chairman noted that the Sokh district currently possesses approximately 500 kilometers of roads, including 100 kilometers of public highways and 400 kilometers of local streets.
"Our primary objective is to ensure a seamless road network across the entire district. Under a forthcoming resolution, we have been tasked with rehabilitating all road sections currently in need of repair," he added.
Uzbekistan holds four exclaves within Kyrgyzstan—Sokh, Shakhimardan, Chon-Kara, and Dzhangayl—while also hosting one Tajik and one Kyrgyz enclave within its own borders. Among these, the Uzbek exclave of Sokh stands as the largest in the world, both in terms of land area and population.
Today, Sokh is home to 88,600 residents spread across 25 mahallas (neighbourhood). The district’s social infrastructure includes 29 preschools, 33 schools, two specialized vocational colleges, 14 medical facilities, and two cultural centers.
In 2021, a transit route to Sokh was opened via Rishtan district of Fergana province, facilitating movement for both pedestrians and passenger vehicles.
By 2022, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov announced that Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan had reached an agreement to streamline border-crossing procedures for Sokh residents. However, he clarified that there are currently no plans to establish a dedicated, extraterritorial corridor to the exclave.
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