Guide on construction in Uzbekistan 2023

Architectural and planning assignment

Planning a construction project starts with the architectural and planning assignment (APA). It is a pre-project document: it does not certify title to the land plot or to the buildings on it, and it is not a ground for starting construction and installation works. A design organisation fills in the standard application form and files it with the authorised state body on behalf of the client — either electronically through the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services, or in person through the Public Services Departments under the Ministry of Justice.

One of three documents is attached to the form: a permit from the district (city) construction department for the reconstruction of a building and for additional buildings on its territory; the protocol of an electronic auction held on the unified electronic trading platform “E-auction”; or a Cabinet of Ministers resolution on the implementation of a large investment project. The authorised body is the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Karakalpakstan, or the regional or Tashkent city Main Department of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, depending on where the facility is located. For facilities related to state secrets, the authorised body is approached directly.

Terms and cost depend on what is being built. New construction of buildings and structures on newly allocated land or on land won at auction takes ten business days and costs 4 BCU. Restructuring or reconstruction that changes the specialisation of a building, together with additional buildings on its territory, takes eight business days and 3.5 BCU. Individual residential houses above two floors, higher than 12 metres from the ground and/or with a total area above 500 square metres take five business days and 1 BCU. The state fee for the public service itself is 1 BCU (340,000 soums). Individual housing construction below those thresholds needs no APA — but coordinating project documentation without an APA where one is due is prohibited outright.

Project and estimate documentation

Once the APA is in hand, the architectural part of the project and estimate documentation has to be coordinated. The documentation is developed by a design organisation holding the appropriate licence and must state the total area of the building or structure. The application form goes to the same two channels — in person through the Public Services Departments or electronically through the Unified Portal — with a draft of the documentation attached in PDF or JPEG.

The documentation is reviewed and coordinated by the authorised body, but two more bodies issue conclusions first: the district (city) sanitary and epidemiological service departments and the district (city) departments for emergency situations. They examine the architectural part and, if they have no objections, forward their conclusions to the authorised body.

Beyond that, some projects go through mandatory expertise and are registered with the territorial inspections of the Inspection for Supervision in the Sphere of Construction: non-residential buildings above two floors, individual residential houses higher than 12 metres and/or above 500 square metres in total area, and non-residential buildings above 300 cubic metres. Building or reconstructing without coordinated project and estimate documentation is prohibited. The state fee is 0.5 BCU.

Registering the facility before works begin

The third stage is registration of the facility for the start of construction and installation works, carried out by the Territorial Control Inspectorates in the field of construction. Except for individual housing, the application form is accompanied by a document confirming that the contractor has a construction laboratory for quality control of the works — or engages one under contract; copies of the order or contract appointing technical supervision by the customer, author’s supervision by the design organisation and internal control by the contractor; the certificates of those specialists; and the approved construction organisation and work execution projects. The form itself must carry the details of the construction participants, the conclusion coordinating the project documentation, and the date and number of the positive comprehensive expert conclusion.

Carrying out construction work without registering the facility is prohibited. No fee is charged for the registration service.

Permit for the use of the facility

The final stage is the permit to use a facility on which construction and installation works have been completed — the document on which state registration of property rights rests. Which body issues it depends on the size of the facility. Territorial control inspectorates in the field of construction issue permits for buildings above two floors, higher than 12 metres above ground and/or above 500 square metres, and non-residential buildings above 300 cubic metres — categories II, III and IV. District (city) construction departments handle everything below those thresholds — category I. For categories II to IV, the district (city) sanitary and epidemiological service and the district (city) emergency situations department issue conclusions; territorial inspections supervising multi-apartment housing stock confirm that the construction or reconstruction of apartment buildings matches the approved urban planning documentation; and representatives of public associations of persons with disabilities take part in commissioning facilities of social, domestic and cultural purpose. On the basis of the permit, the departments of the Chamber of State Cadastre Affairs carry out state registration of property rights.

Before applying, the cadastral passport for the building must be properly executed. The application is accompanied — except for individual housing and category I facilities — by the acceptance certificate signed between the contractor and the customer, the contractor’s declaration of compliance, and a conclusion on the compliance of the works with the approved urban planning documentation issued by those carrying out author’s and technical supervision.

A permit for phased use may be issued; where parts of the facility remain unfinished, they must still ensure its seismic and fire resistance. A permit covering the whole facility is issued after all planned works are complete — full erection of the buildings, finishing works, and connection to external engineering networks. Using a completed facility without a permit is prohibited. The state fee is 0.3 BCU, or 0.27 BCU if the service is requested through the Unified Portal; payment is confirmed electronically.

What non-compliance costs

Under Article 99, part 1 of the Code on Administrative Liability, breaching requirements while carrying out design or construction and installation works — or evading, or being late with, the prescriptions of the construction and road-quality inspections — brings fines of 5 to 10 BCU for citizens and 10 to 20 BCU for officials. Under part 7 of the same article, building without a positive state expertise conclusion on the project and estimate documentation, including working documentation, or without the permission of those inspections, brings 25 to 30 BCU for citizens and 50 to 70 BCU for officials.

The Law “On Licensing, Permits and Notification Procedures” adds fines on legal entities that are an order of magnitude larger: 200 BCU for the absence of an architectural and planning assignment, 150 BCU for the absence of an approval confirming that the project documentation matches the APA, and 100 BCU for the absence of an act of commissioning for a completed building.

The full guide walks through each stage in detail, with the documents, the bodies and the deadlines set out step by step.