The State Committee of Uzbekistan on land resources, geodesy, cartography and the state cadastre (DavQomYerGeodezKadastr) organized workshops on October 22, in Samarkand, and on 25 October, in Tashkent, to present a World Bank-supported project designed to improve public services in the area of cadastral and real property rights registration.

In May 2016, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$20 million credit for the Modernization of Real Property Registration and Cadastre Project in Uzbekistan (MRPRC). The Government of Uzbekistan provided an additional US$15.7 million to implement respective project activities. The objective of the project is to establish an efficient and accessible real property registration and cadastre system based on modern technologies that will become a part of the national eGovernment services and will benefit millions of citizens and business entities across Uzbekistan.

The workshops in Samarkand and Tashkent were attended by officials of DavQomYerGeodezKadastr, ministries and state agencies, local authorities, higher education institutions, international financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, notarial offices, as well as by representatives of the private sector, including firms providing geodetic and evaluating services, real estate agencies and developers. They were informed about the MRPRC project’s objectives, components and expected outcomes when it will be completed in 2021.  

“In Uzbekistan, more efficient use of land resources together with the empowerment of the private sector’s investments are selected as priority interventions for the successful realization of the social and economic reforms. World Bank has been continuously supporting the Government’s ambitious reform agenda and therefore, the MRPRC project was a natural fit in the five-year country partnership framework”, said Keith Clifford Bell, World Bank’s Senior Land Policy Specialist, welcoming the event participants in Tashkent.

“Since 1980, the World Bank has supported 70 land administration projects in 42 states with around US$ 3 billion in financing. The World Bank looks forward to continuing to work with the Government to share international best practice to ensure the effective implementation of the MRPRC project and also broader land reform in the country in the interest of citizens of Uzbekistan”, added Keith Clifford Bell.

“The MRPRC project will improve DavQomYerGeodezKadastr’s operational capabilities to deliver better public services for citizens, who own, acquire, mortgage and use real estate through legal registration of rights. Meanwhile, business entities willing to invest in real estate and land plots will get secure access to cadaster data, and central and local authorities will benefit from accurate geospatial data online”, said Sherzod Khabibullayev, Deputy Chairman of DavQomYerGeodezKadastr.    

“The MRPRC will also have an impact in the area of good governance. Namely, thanks to digital geospatial and legal information systems on real estate and real estate transactions accessible to the society via Internet, administrative processes and procedures in land management will become more accountable, transparent, and effective”, Sherzod Khabibullayev noted.

DavQomYerGeodezKadastr, World Bank, local and foreign experts briefed the event participants on DavQomYerGeodezKadastr’s ICT development strategy, development of an integrated information systems for real property registration and cadaster, international best practices in mass digitalization of real property registration and cadaster records, development of legal framework regulating the above-mentioned issues.

They event participants were also explained the recent political decisions taken by the Government, including the resolutions on ad hoc recognition of ownership of illegally constructed housing, and introduction of transparent mechanisms for land plots allocation for entrepreneurial and urban development activities.

The event participants in the two cities had a fruitful exchange on how to improve public services in the area of cadastral and real property rights registration to meet respective needs of citizens, business entities and government agencies.