Uzbekistan considers tying loan approval to payment of water debts
“Uzbekistan to Deny Loans to Consumers with Huge Debts for Water and Sewage Services”
“Uzsuvta’minot” has recently revealed plans to implement a proposal that would restrict access to loans for consumers with substantial debts related to drinking water and sewage services. This decision comes as nearly half of the 5 million households in Uzbekistan have accumulated unpaid debts in this area.
According to reports from “Uzsuvta’minot,” the total debt owed by consumers for drinking water and sewage services in the country is nearing 1 trillion UZS. Despite ongoing efforts to educate the population on the importance of payment discipline and to deter the illegal use of water supply networks and sewage services, violations of the law persist.
Sultanhoja Dadaboyev, the head of “Uzsuvta’minot,” shared that the outstanding debt amounts to approximately 1 trillion UZS, with individuals owing 715.2 billion UZS and legal entities owing nearly 250 billion UZS. While there has been a reduction of 41.5 billion UZS in consumer debts compared to the beginning of the year, a significant portion of households, totaling 2 million 408 thousand or nearly 50%, still have unpaid debts.
Dadaboyev highlighted that in the current year alone, 22.4 thousand consumers, both individuals and legal entities, have been disconnected from the water supply network due to debt, with the highest number of cases occurring in Tashkent city.
Moreover, efforts to combat illegal connections to water supply and sewage systems have led to the detection of 7,700 cases in the first half of the year, with damages exceeding 68 billion UZS. Legal action has been taken against 117.6 thousand consumers to recover unpaid debts for water and sewage services, totaling 343 billion soums.
Shahboz Sarmanov, a department head at “Uzsuvta’minot,” revealed that a system is being developed to restrict access to loans for consumers with outstanding drinking water debts. The proposal aims to deny any type of loan to individuals with unpaid debts for water and sewage services until the debt is cleared. Even if the consumer does not own the property but is registered at a household with debts in the water supply system, a loan will not be approved. The company is also considering linking debt recovery from defaulting consumers to gas and electricity systems.
As discussions and developments continue, “Uzsuvta’minot” is working towards implementing these measures to address the issue of unpaid debts for drinking water and sewage services in Uzbekistan.
