Over the past seven years, due to the support provided to domestic carriers, their fleet has grown sevenfold, with the number of freight vehicles reaching 26,000. Their share in international transportation has increased from 35 percent to 60 percent.
However, the current geopolitical situation in the world poses challenges for the sector. Delivery times for cargo heading west have doubled, and costs have increased by 1.5 times. Specific border crossing points in European countries have been closed, while others face long queues.
In this regard, the need for consistent development of the transport and logistics system and diversification of foreign trade routes was emphasized.
In particular, measures must be taken to simplify and facilitate transit cargo transportation through countries located along alternative routes to international and regional markets. This includes reducing or mutually eliminating border fees.
In Uzbekistan, most forwarding services connecting shippers and carriers are currently provided by foreign companies. To support domestic freight forwarders, value-added tax (VAT) will no longer be applied to their services in international transportation. As a result, the share of local companies in this sector is expected to increase to 45-50 percent.
The goal has been set to double the volume of international freight transportation through these measures and increase the export of transport services to $3 billion.
Equally important is increasing the volume of transit shipments through Uzbekistan. Thanks to the conditions created in recent years, Uzbekistan’s position in the World Bank’s logistics index is improving. Alongside the growth of transit potential, this contributes to increased investment inflows and the overall development of trade and economic relations.
The responsible agencies have been instructed to increase freight flows from abroad by implementing an electronic queuing system, reducing border crossing times to 20 minutes, and introducing online vehicle monitoring.
The discussion also covered the provision of non-linear taxi services. Two years ago, individuals were temporarily allowed to work as taxi drivers under self-employed status. As a result, the number of taxi drivers increased sixfold, reaching 457,000. It has been determined that from now on, this procedure will be in effect permanently.
In addition, a market for convenient information services to connect taxi drivers with passengers has emerged in the country. Currently, 151 aggregator companies are operating, and their number continues to grow. In this regard, the task has been set to regulate the activities of aggregators and clearly define their obligations to the state, drivers, and passengers.
