ТASHKENT, October 22. /Dunyo IA/.  Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed plans for the development of New Karshi City and the creation of a tourism complex along the Karshi Main Canal, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

According to the press service of the Head of our State, a 5,200-hectare site between the A-378 highway linking Tashkent and Samarkand and the 4R-79 road to Shahrisabz has been selected for the new city. The area consists of low-productivity, unused desert and pastureland. The preliminary master plan is designed for a population of 500,000.

Head of our State stressed the need to plan the city as a major centre for up to 1 million residents in the future, serving as a modern counterpart to Karshi.

Project envisages relocating the regional administration and other public institutions to the new city. A congress hall, concert venues and hotels will also be built, creating a tourism hub capable of hosting major international forums similar to those held in Samarkand and Bukhara.

Transport network is expected to ensure convenient links with other parts of the region. Plans include tram, trolleybus and light metro routes connecting the airport and railway station to the new city.

Presentation also covered a tourism complex to be developed along the Karshi Main Canal. A total of 235 hectares has been allocated for the project, including a three-kilometre promenade. Project will be implemented in four phases, beginning with the construction of a crafts village and tourism zone on 30 hectares.

Complex is planned to include hotels, restaurants, shops, a museum, an aqua park, children’s playgrounds and an artificial lake for boating.

Head of State instructed officials to develop comprehensive master plans for the new city and tourism complex with the involvement of leading international architecture and design firms, based on the principles of safety, accessibility, affordability and “smart urban” development.