Foreign Company Causes Environmental Damage Exceeding 7 Billion Sums
2025-10-08 11:30:00 / News
The inspection established that on 25 November 2024 the Ministry of Mining and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan, on the basis of Decision No. 44 of the State Institution “Center for Subsoil Use” dated 23 October 2024, conducted an electronic online auction for geological exploration works on the “Djomboy-3” site, located 7.7 km northwest of the centre of Bulungur District. The site covers an area of 11.3 hectares and consists of loess deposits.
Following the auction, the foreign company S.I. was declared the winner and on 27 November 2024 was issued a licence by the Ministry of Mining and Geology to carry out geological exploration works.
However, the company, without having obtained in the prescribed manner a permit for the extraction of mineral resources, violated the requirements of the licence and the conditions of the auction and carried out illegal extraction of non-metallic materials. Measurements established that the company unlawfully extracted 50,859.25 cubic metres of soil (loess).
These actions constitute violations of Articles 18–48 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Nature Protection” and Article 34 of the Law “On the Subsoil.” In accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 666 dated 23 November 2022, the damage to the environment has been assessed at 7,374,591,250 sums (UZS).
The collected documents have been submitted to the General Prosecutor’s Office for legal assessment of the situation and the adoption of appropriate measures.