“Yours sincerely, my people.” Charvak given to the Agalarovs at a low price, explained

north_east

Is the controversial “Charvak” project in danger?

It was previously reported that a 25-year lease for 577 hectares of land, allocated to Azerbaijani singer and entrepreneur Emin Agalarov for the construction of the "Sea Breeze Uzbekistan" tourist complex near the Charvak reservoir in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region, was set at only 17 billion soums. This lease included a reduction coefficient of 0.01. Naturally, this has raised further questions surrounding the project. Muzaffar Rakhimjanov, Deputy Head of the Department at the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, addressed some of these concerns.

According to Rakhimjanov, the lease payment was intentionally reduced to a symbolic amount in order to encourage investment. In exchange, the investor is expected to pay an infrastructure contribution of $240 million.

“This is significantly higher than the market value of land rent. This payment is being introduced for the first time in the Tashkent region. These funds will be used to build sewers, roads, bridges, and treatment facilities. The remaining $100 million will be spent on further development and modernization of regional infrastructure,” said Rakhimjanov.

He also cited international precedents, such as zero-cost lease agreements for large-scale investment projects in countries like Mexico and Vietnam, aimed at attracting foreign investment and accelerating economic growth.

One of the major concerns raised by the public is the possibility of re-leasing the land during the 25-year lease period. Rakhimjanov stated that re-lease would only be allowed for implementing construction aligned with the approved project concept—such as for building international hotels and related infrastructure.

“In case of violation of the terms, the contract will be terminated and the land will be returned to the state,” he said.

The official also clarified why construction was permitted simultaneously with the design phase. He explained that in specific cases, national legislation allows the government to approve parallel design and construction, provided there is strict oversight. In this instance, the project will be supervised by the Prosecutor General, and an interdepartmental group will be formed under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister.