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Earthworks have begun in central Tashkent to restore a three-hectare lake beside the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis — a water body that was drained in spring 2020 and has sat unused ever since, its island and fountain long gone.
The National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change confirmed the project and published a render of the planned design. Restoration is being carried out under the nationwide Clean Air programme, approved by presidential decree in March, with the stated aims of reducing dust levels, improving air quality and improving the local microclimate. The render suggests two large fountains positioned diagonally at opposite corners of the lake, connected by walkways, with a mirrored arch installed at a third corner. Whether the finished result will match the sketch closely remains unclear; only excavation work is under way at present.
A Site With a History of Abandoned Plans
The lake was originally part of the National Park of Uzbekistan and was fed, along with the park’s larger reservoir, by the Ankhor canal. The larger reservoir was drained a year earlier — in 2019 — to make way for the Magic City entertainment complex, which opened in 2021. That reservoir was refilled when the renovated National Park reopened in 2022.
The smaller lake beside the Legislative Chamber has had a more troubled history. In 2020, plans were drawn up to open a restaurant complex called Light House on its island, complete with an observation tower; the project was never realised. In 2021, construction began on a new building for the National Academic Drama Theatre on the same site, with completion targeted before 2023. The client was listed as the directorate of the Tashkent City International Business Centre under the government; Enter Engineering PTE was named general contractor and Oil and Gas Design the general designer. That project was also halted.
Part of a Wider Push for Urban Water Bodies
The lake’s restoration is one of twelve artificial water bodies planned for the capital. Other projects already reported include sites near the airport in the Kumariq mahalla, near Victory Park, in the Uchtepa district, in the Botanical Garden, and in a new park on the former site of the Sericulture Research Institute.
The broader neighbourhood is also seeing significant construction. On the opposite side of the Legislative Chamber building, also within the National Park grounds, work is progressing on a new National Museum of Uzbekistan. That building was designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, with the exhibition concept prepared by the German firm Atelier Brückner; the museum will itself be partially surrounded by water.