Uzbekistan is emerging as a regional logistics and transit hub, strategically located at the crossroads of multiple CAREC corridors (2, 3, 5, and 6). The country boasts a growing network of dry ports and logistics centers in Tashkent, Navoi, and Angren. Road transport plays a major role. A limiting factor is the shortage of compliant trucks and specialized terminals to support containerization, which impedes the use of the Middle Corridor.
Uzbekistan is actively developing multimodal corridors, including routes via Turkmenistan and Iran, as well as new connections to China and Türkiye. These efforts are supported by national strategies like the Transport System Strategy 2035 and Uzbekistan 2030, which aim to increase container share and logistics efficiency.
TFIs confirm broad-based improvements. TFI1 and TFI2 for road transport fell, especially outbound costs (–44%), while SWD rose to 33.2 km/h, indicating more reliable corridor performance. Rail performance remained steady.
Broad-based Improvement
Table 6.10: Trade Facilitation Indicators for Uzbekistan (2021–2023)
| Trade Facilitation Indicators | Road Transport | Rail Transport | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | % change | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | % change | ||
| TFI1 | Time taken to clear a border-crossing point (hour) | 7.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 11.87% | 6.2 | 6.8 | 6.7 | -2.27% |
| Outbound | 6.6 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 40.73% | 6.0 | – | – | – | |
| Inbound | 9.1 | 5.5 | 4.4 | -19.30% | 6.2 | 6.8 | 6.7 | -2.27% | |
| TFI2 | Cost incurred at border-crossing clearance ($) | 92 | 74 | 50 | -32.49% | 133 | 133 | 132 | -0.19% |
| Outbound | 114 | 87 | 49 | -44.04% | – | – | – | – | |
| Inbound | 74 | 63 | 53 | -16.18% | 133 | 133 | 132 | -0.19% | |
| TFI3 | Cost incurred to travel a corridor section | 674 | 687 | 568 | -17.35% | 665 | 635 | 626 | -1.46% |
| ($, per 500 km, per 20-ton cargo) | |||||||||
| SWD | Speed to travel on CAREC Corridors (km/h) | 27.9 | 29.6 | 33.2 | 12.04% | 11.2 | 11.8 | 11.9 | 1.03% |
| SWOD | Speed without Delay (km/h) | 46.9 | 45.6 | 47.4 | 3.90% | 13.3 | 13.1 | 13.2 | 0.88% |
In road transport, TFI1 trends showed a mixed performance. Border clearance time improved significantly from 7.56 hr in 2021 to 4.20 hr in 2022 but increased to 4.70 hr in 2023 (+11.9%). Outbound clearance time went up by 40.7% in 2023 after earlier gains, while inbound time declined by 19.3%, reflecting improved efficiency on the import side but growing delays for export cargo. Such divergence may be due to increased outbound freight volume, insufficient staffing at BCPs, or lack of harmonized inspection protocols.
Rail transport performance remained relatively steady, with TFI1 decreasing slightly from 6.22 hr to 6.65 hr (–2.3%) over the period. Outbound rail clearance data was not available for 2022 and 2023, limiting the analysis of rail export clearance efficiency.
TFI2’s performance for road transport showed a remarkable improvement. Average clearance cost dropped from $92.39 in 2021 to $50.24 in 2023 (–32.5%). The most significant improvement was in outbound cost, which declined from $113.89 to $48.65 (–44%). Inbound costs also declined but at a slower rate (–16.2%), but the reduction reflects progress in fee rationalization, digitization of customs, and possibly a more competitive logistics service market.
In rail transport, clearance costs remained mostly unchanged—$132.77 in 2021 compared to $132.40 in 2023. The static trend may indicate a lack of pricing reforms, which limits Uzbekistan’s rail freight competitiveness, especially in a market increasingly shifting toward containerized and multimodal transport.
TFI3 for road transport decreased from $674.40 in 2021 to $567.63 in 2023 (–17.4%), signaling improved road logistics efficiency. The positive outcome was likely influenced by better fleet utilization, reduced fuel consumption per ton-km, and expanding road upgrades on CAREC corridors.
Rail transport cost per corridor section also improved modestly from $665.12 in 2021 to $626.09 in 2023 (–1.5%), relative to road improvements, and points to moderate gains in cargo throughput and cost recovery strategies that require further optimization.
Uzbekistan’s road transport speed performance improved notably. SWD rose from 27.89 km/h in 2021 to 33.18 km/h in 2023 (+12%), indicating fewer delays and improved coordination along corridors, while SWOD) increased slightly from 46.94 km/h to 47.36 km/h (+3.9%), signaling incremental infrastructure and traffic management improvements.
In rail transport, SWD improved from 11.15 km/h to 11.89 km/h (+1%), while SWOD also improved marginally from 13.33 km/h to 13.20 km/h. Though marginal, these indicators suggest that operational practices in rail corridors are stabilizing, but more aggressive interventions are needed to bring rail transport speed closer to regional best practices.