Uzbekistan plans to build a new city, New Karshi, on a 5,200-hectare site in Kashkadarya Region, with the settlement eventually designed to accommodate one million residents.

On October 22, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the construction plans and a proposed tourism complex along the Karshi Main Canal, The Caspian Post reports, citing the presidential press service.

The site designated for New Karshi is located between the A-378 Samarkand-Guzar highway and the 4P-79 road leading to Shakhrisabz. The area currently consists of unused desert and pastureland with low soil quality.

The preliminary master plan envisages a population of 500,000. However, Mirziyoyev emphasized that the city should be designed as a major urban center capable of accommodating one million people over time and serving as a modern extension of Karshi.

The regional administration and other government institutions are expected to relocate to New Karshi. The plans also include a congress hall, concert venues and hotels, enabling the city to host major international forums similar to those held in Samarkand and Bukhara.

The president stressed the importance of ensuring convenient transport connections between the new city and surrounding areas. He instructed officials to introduce electric public transport and, if necessary, build an above-ground metro linking the airport and railway station with the new city.

A separate tourism complex is planned along the Karshi Main Canal on a 235-hectare site extending for three kilometers. The project will be implemented in four stages.

The first phase will cover 30 hectares and include a crafts village and a tourism zone. The complex is also expected to feature hotels, restaurants, shops, a museum, a water park, children's playgrounds and an artificial lake for boating.

Mirziyoyev instructed officials to prepare a detailed master plan for New Karshi and a comprehensive development plan for the tourism complex, involving leading international design and architectural firms.

Both projects are to be developed in accordance with the principles of safety, comfort, accessibility and smart-city development.