Tashkent needs to add about 1,000 hectares of large green and forest-park areas to come close to Almaty's level of greenery, the city's mayor, Shavkat Umurzakov said.

"We need to add about 1,000 hectares," he said. The long-term goal for the city as it stands today, excluding New Tashkent, is about 3,000 hectares of green space by 2035-2040, "God willing," he said.

Umurzakov tied new green zones to the coming renovation of low-rise areas, which he said account for 60%-70% of the city's territory or could potentially be redeveloped. About 30% of that land can be built on, he said, leaving about 15,000 hectares, of which roughly 10,000 could be green space and the rest infrastructure. Authorities have identified sites totaling about 1,000 hectares.

The city administration is creating a nursery on about 100 hectares that can grow up to 120 million shrubs. Part of the stock would be sold to the private sector, with the proceeds funding upkeep. Officials plan to cut back on flowers and lawns in favor of mass shrub planting and drip irrigation, and to use only trees at least eight years old, about 10,000 per district each year, or roughly 120,000 citywide.

"Even 50-60 million shrubs a year is a huge volume of greening for Tashkent itself," Umurzakov said. Up to 100 million shrubs could line about 741 kilometers of central streets, he said.

Separately, on the instruction of Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the Presidential Administration, authorities are working to link about 800 hectares of parks and green areas. Foreign and local designers, including Buro Happold and the architectural studio SAD, are developing the concept.

On the president's instruction, the administration was allocated more than 100 hectares for forestry. About 300 hectares in the Bektemir and Yangihayot districts are being assigned to create a forest area, with about 100 hectares for the nursery. Umurzakov said trees died in the past because they were planted without irrigation or incorrectly.