Demand for warehouse real estate in Tashkent continues to grow, but supply remains limited. Foreign companies are raising their requirements for warehouses, stimulating developers to build modern facilities. At the same time, prices for medium-quality premises are decreasing.
Uzbekistan demonstrates the highest growth rates in logistics among Central Asian countries. In 2023, international cargo transportation reached 59.2 million tons, which is 10% higher than the previous year's figures. At the same time, the volume of import cargo (29.7 million tons) is almost twice the export volume (15.5 million tons), and the volume of transit cargo amounted to 13.9 million tons. This trend increases demand for warehouses, according to a report by the consulting company Commonwealth Partnership Uzbekistan (CMWP).
The company's experts analyzed the warehouse real estate market in Tashkent and the adjacent territories of the Tashkent region. The total volume of Class A, B, and C warehouse premises in private ownership in Tashkent amounted to 391 thousand sq. m. The majority of these are concentrated in the southern districts of Tashkent (Sergeli, Bektemir, Yangikhayot), where industrial zones are traditionally located.
Within a 5 km radius of the city center, the volume of warehouse space is limited, totaling only 42 thousand sq. m. However, at a distance of 5-10 km, their volume increases almost fivefold, reaching 210 thousand sq. m.
Experts are paying particular attention to the M-39 highway, which runs through the western part of Tashkent and connects Uzbekistan with Kazakhstan.
"The direction is actively developing and attracting the attention of owners and investors due to low competition in the vicinity of the highway," the report notes. The author of the work, Head of Project Consulting and Data Management Department at CMWP Uzbekistan, Alexey Letunovsky, clarified to Gazeta.uz that in 2024, a warehouse with an area of 36 thousand sq. m. was opened in this direction.
"We are seeing increased interest and demand from our clients for the development of this particular direction. This gives us grounds to talk about possible future projects on the M-39," said Alexey Letunovsky.
A significant change in the warehouse real estate market in 2024 was the commissioning of the first Class A warehouses, whose distinctive feature is compliance with international standards. Their marketed rental rate ranges from $9 to $13 per sq. m. (excluding VAT and operating expenses).
Over the year, 90% of all available Class A spaces (~21 thousand sq. m.) were leased on the market. The remaining 9% of vacant premises, according to CMWP forecasts, will be occupied by mid-2025. High demand is provided by international companies interested in locating their logistics operations in Uzbekistan.
Rental rates for dry, covered Class B and C warehouses decreased from $6.67 at the beginning of the year to $6.3 per sq. m. by the end of 2024. Among the reasons cited by analysts are the entry into the market of a large number of Class C warehouses built during the Soviet era, which expanded the price range, as well as increased tenant interest in Class A warehouses commissioned in 2024.
As of the end of 2024, 191 warehouse facilities were recorded in Tashkent and its surrounding areas. Among them:
- 7 facilities (3.7%) are state-owned;
- 41 facilities (21.5%) are privately owned warehouses for rent;
- 143 facilities (74.9%) are Built-To-Suit (BTS), used by owners for their own needs or built for a specific tenant's request, without entering the open rental market.
At the same time, warehouse rental offers remain limited, noted Alexey Letunovsky. New facilities are being developed under the BTS scheme to meet the individual needs of large companies, primarily from the e-commerce sector, such as Uzum and others.
New warehouses are not being built for several reasons, the expert added. Project payback periods remain moderate with high construction and operating costs. If international standards applicable to warehouse real estate are met, building a Class A complex is expensive, and access to long-term financing is limited, which also affects development costs.
Furthermore, many local companies lack corporate standards for storing customer products, which is why many of them rent the cheapest warehouses.
"Demand for Class A warehouse space is generated by foreign companies and local distributors of foreign products, who require compliance with international standards. However, developers currently lack sufficient confidence in attracting such tenants on the requested terms," said Alexey Letunovsky.
Source: Gazeta.uz
Photo: Evgeny Sorochin / Gazeta.uz
