The French company is to invest 315 million euros of its own funds, while 1.08 billion euros is to come during the project implementation.

Askar Akayev was once lauded by Western countries as a democratic outlier in a region of despots and strongmen.

The illicit business has boomed as bicycles become a market increasingly being filled with high-end models costing thousands of Euros.

It is expected to mine 65 million tonnes of ore annually from the deposit area of 11,000 hectares starting from 2024.

The bank widened the interest rate corridor to plus/minus 2 percentage points from plus/minus 1 percentage points.

The IMF expects Uzbekistan’s economy to grow by 5 percent in 2021, but says that the recovery could be delayed by a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.