Backgrounder: Pengsheng Industrial Park, model project of China-Uzbekistan cooperation

Located in Uzbekistan's Sirdaryo state, some 70 km southwest of the capital city of Tashkent, the Pengsheng Industrial Park is the biggest non-energy cooperation project between China and the Central Asian country.

The park, which covers an area of 1.02 square km, was built by Jinsheng Trading Company Ltd. from east China's Wenzhou city in 2009 with a total investment of 99.4 million U.S. dollars. It is the first investment project by a Chinese private enterprise in Uzbekistan that has been acknowledged and ratified by the governments of the two countries.

The park currently houses nine manufacturing companies in various fields, including ceramic tiles, artificial leather, shoes, cellphones, faucets, bathroom accessories, pet foods and sausage casings, with a total of more than 1,500 employees, of which 1,300 are local hires.

Besides standard workshops, office buildings, staff dormitories and a logistics service center, the park is also equipped with a siding track, a gas station, a power substation, a sewage disposal system, a product testing center and a cargo warehouse under custom's supervision.

Since its establishment, the Pengsheng Industrial Park has won support from the governments of both sides. For example, in May 2009, Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed Executive Order No.1139, granting tax exemption to equipments and construction materials that were purchased to build the park.

So far, the Pengsheng Industrial Park has contributed greatly to local economic development and improved local people's livelihood, making it a model project of China-Uzbekistan cooperation. Endi