Uzbekistan has opened its first toll road — a 35-km, four-lane highway connecting Urgench and Khiva. The road links Urgench Airport with Khiva and has reduced travel time between the cities from 45−50 minutes to 15−17 minutes.
The project includes two underground tunnels, eight overpasses, 15 bridges and 106 drainage structures. The highway has a capacity of more than 30,000 vehicles per day. Its top layer is made of a modified bitumen mixture designed to withstand hot climates, while the total pavement thickness is 87 cm. Construction took eight months.
Javokhir Nurmurodov, Deputy Head of the Department at the Road Committee, said the highway operated in test mode from September 1 to 3, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. From September 4, it began operating around the clock.
“Due to the high traffic intensity on the existing D215 road, we now have an opportunity to redirect part of the traffic flow to our toll highway. This also saves time,” he said.
According to him, more than 1,000 vehicles used the highway on its first day. The speed limit is 130 km/h. Towing, horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians are prohibited on the road.
Traffic management and toll collection are carried out using AI-powered digital systems.
Tolls for passenger cars, trucks and buses are collected electronically without requiring vehicles to stop. The toll is 26,000 soums for a passenger car, 44,000 soums for a minibus and 66,000 soums for a bus. There will be no speed cameras on the road.
Spot found the Uz Toll Road mobile application on the App Store. The toll payment system was originally scheduled to be fully launched on August 25.
Urgench-Khiva Toll Road
In January, plans to build a toll road in Khorezm region were revealed for the first time. The future highway was expected to directly connect Khiva with Urgench International Airport.
Construction of the first toll road between Urgench and Khiva began in February. The $120 million project envisaged a four-lane, 35-km toll road with a capacity of more than 20,000 vehicles per day. The project also included 17 bridges, eight overpasses, one tunnel and five special crossings.
At the end of July, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan’s first toll road, connecting Urgench and Khiva, was planned to open in August.
In mid-August, Shavkat Mirziyoyev travelled from Khiva to Urgench International Airport along the new 35-km toll road.
“I drove along this road [last week], it is simply magnificent. Congratulations”, the president said.
On August 25, Khorezm Deputy Governor Anvar Davletov announced the launch of the Urgench-Khiva toll highway, saying the project cost $150 million. The Road Committee said negotiations with foreign partners were underway.
Earlier, Spot reported that banks in Hong Kong could finance the construction of the Tashkent-Samarkand toll road.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
