Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has allocated 25 billion soums from his reserve fund for the construction of a new bridge and road infrastructure in the Alat district of the Bukhara region, on the border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 24 television reported.
The instruction was given Nov. 4 during a meeting on the socioeconomic development of the Bukhara region, which Mirziyoyev held during a working visit to the area. Alat district governor Nargiza Neymatova proposed building a new bridge, saying the existing structure can no longer handle the growing flow of freight and passenger traffic. According to her, both transportation volumes and passenger traffic have tripled.
Also on Nov. 4, Uzbekistan Transport Minister I.Makhkamov, Customs Committee Chairman A.Mavlonov, Road Committee Chairman J.Tursunov and Uzsuvtaminot JSC Board Chairman A.Suvonkulov visited the Alat border customs post. During the visit, they reviewed the checkpoint's operations and discussed measures to increase its capacity, improve logistics infrastructure and simplify freight transport procedures, according to the Transport Ministry.
The existing bridge over the Yomonjar Canal, which connects the neutral territories of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, was built in 1978 and is now technically outdated, according to the ministry. Under the ministry's proposal, the new bridge should have at least two lanes for freight vehicles in each direction. The project is expected to speed up transportation, reduce congestion in the border area and improve conditions for passenger vehicles and pedestrians.
More than 243,000 vehicles crossed the Alat customs post in the first 10 months of 2026, 2.3 times the figure recorded during the same period in 2022, according to the ministry. Currently, up to 1,200 vehicles pass through the checkpoint in both directions each day.
