An investment fund from France, Meridiam, has expressed interest in public-private partnership projects in Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Economy and Finance reports.

On November 22, the head of the ministry, Jamshid Kuchkarov, received a delegation led by the director of the fund for Eurasia, Remy Hassenforder. The meeting was also attended by the head of the PPP Development Department, Abdukodir Yakubov.

Hassendorfer presented the host with social infrastructure projects implemented by Meridiam in other countries. He also reported on the fund’s interest in the construction of innovative schools and hospitals in the regions of Uzbekistan.

Kuchkarov expressed support for the initiative of the French investment fund to create educational institutions. The possibilities of implementing transport infrastructure projects, including the Bukhara-Samarkand and Tashkent-Andijan highways, were also discussed.

Plans to connect Tashkent with Andijan with a new toll highway first became known in 2019. According to information published a year later, it is supposed to be carried out through an alternative tunnel on Kamchik.

In addition, it is planned to create a toll road between Tashkent and Samarkand, and in 2022, the PPP Development Agency announced a project for the Samarkand-Shahrisabz highway. The agency estimated travel on future highways for passenger cars at $5-6.