The government plans to build a toll motorway and a high-speed railway between Samarkand and Bukhara, cutting the road journey from five hours to 1.5 hours, according to plans disclosed on Nov. 4 at a meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The concrete-surfaced toll road is among the largest of the projects. Mirziyoyev instructed the responsible agencies to finish master plans for the road and railway and to begin talks with potential partners. Costs, construction start dates and funding sources were not specified.
In Bukhara province, reconstruction of the A-380 highway is due to be completed this year. Work on 69 km of the M-37 highway, valued at $200 million, is to begin in 2027 and includes a 4.5-km bypass around Bukhara.
A new $300 million international airport is under construction in Bukhara. It will be able to handle 20 aircraft at once, and its terminal will have a capacity of up to 1,200 passengers an hour. About 24 km of road will be built and reconstructed to link it with the city, along with a 5.5-km bus rapid transit corridor. Mirziyoyev ordered the airport and road completed by Sept. 1, 2027.
Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines plans to launch direct flights between Istanbul and Bukhara on Dec. 14, 2026, three times a week. The president also ordered flights to Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Egypt and Bahrain to be organized in 2027.
Background: The Samarkand-Bukhara toll road has been discussed since 2024, when it was valued at $1 billion and planned for 2027-2030 under a public-private partnership. In July 2026, construction began in Uzbekistan on the 282-km Tashkent-Samarkand toll road, costing about $2.2 billion.
