Sea Breeze resort on the Charvak reservoir, Uzbekistan
- Company or project The investor (founder and owner of Sea Breeze), as quoted by the Ministry of Ecology: Wants Sea Breeze to become the most environmentally friendly project in any country. Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)
- Government and regulators Ministry of Ecology: The construction line will be 400–500 m from the shore against a legal minimum of 50 m; trees will be inventoried and moved; an international environmental council will be set up. Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)
- Government and regulators State Center for Environmental Expertise: Only the first stage of the procedure is complete; documents specifying the treatment facilities have not been received. The Times of Central Asia
- Communities and civil society #SaveChorvoq campaign: Calls for information and open consultation. The Times of Central Asia
A resort of about US$ 5 billion on 577 ha of the eastern shore of the Charvak reservoir was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 1 August 2025 and promoted as the most environmentally friendly project in any country. In August 2026 the state environmental review had passed only its first stage, while shoreline preparation had begun.
Times of Central Asia; 577 ha allocated. State environmental review at stage 1 of 2 as of August 2026.
Status As of August 2026: the state environmental review had passed stage 1 of 2; preparatory shoreline work had begun; the environmental impact assessment documents had not been submitted.
- Sea Breeze Uzbekistan LLC and Agalarov Development — Cabinet approval of the investment project and allocation of 577 ha The Times of Central Asia
- Eastern shore of the Charvak reservoir — Shoreline reinforcement, land preparation and tree planting started before stage 2 of the environmental review The Times of Central Asia
What happened
In July 2025 the Bostanlyk district governor said about 100 ha were under consideration for the first phase of a 500–700 ha complex on the Charvak reservoir; most of the site is public reserve land, with some farmland and forestry plots, and "nothing official has been submitted yet". The Ecology Minister said at a press conference near Charvak on 23 July 2025: "Frankly speaking, we've only heard about the project informally", and proposed a moratorium on construction in protected zones and a master plan separating recreation from conservation areas (Times of Central Asia). The Times of Central Asia reported that the investor owned no land in Uzbekistan at that point and that no project had been approved.
The Ministry of Ecology reported on 15 July 2025, after a press tour of the Sea Breeze resort in Azerbaijan on 8–9 July for Uzbek officials, that the construction line would be 400–500 m from the shore against a legal minimum of 50 m, that trees would be inventoried and moved and new trees planted, that an international environmental council with independent experts would be set up, and that the investor proposed a shared ring collector to treat wastewater along the whole Charvak shoreline. The release quoted the investor, the founder and owner of Sea Breeze, as wanting it to become "the most environmentally friendly project in any country". The release states no investment figure.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025, through Sea Breeze Uzbekistan LLC, a joint venture with Agalarov Development. Public hearings were held in Bostanlyk on 23 January 2026. By 10–11 August 2026 the state environmental review had passed only stage 1 (land selection and allocation); technical documents for the environmental impact assessment had not been submitted more than six months after the hearings, seasonal flora and fauna studies by the Institutes of Botany and Zoology were to run through autumn, winter and spring, and detailed preparation could take about two more years. The current work was shoreline reinforcement, land preparation and tree planting; the main buildings had not been started. Once documents are submitted, the State Centre for Environmental Expertise has 25 working days to review them. A #SaveChorvoq campaign calls for information and open consultation.
- 2024Project presented by the investor (late 2024)
- 2025Press tour of the Sea Breeze resort in Azerbaijan (8–9 Jul); ministry release (15 Jul); Ecology Minister's press conference (23 Jul); Cabinet approves the investment project (1 Aug)
- 2026Public hearings in Bostanlyk (23 Jan); state environmental review still at stage 1, preparatory shoreline work under way (10–11 Aug)
What was said
“the most environmentally friendly project in any country”
“Special attention is given to the protection of water resources”
“will ensure transparency and accountability at every stage”
“nothing official has been submitted yet”
“Frankly speaking, we've only heard about the project informally”
“only the first stage of the procedure”
“we have still not received documents specifying what the treatment facilities will be like”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Wants Sea Breeze to become the most environmentally friendly project in any country.
Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)The construction line will be 400–500 m from the shore against a legal minimum of 50 m; trees will be inventoried and moved; an international environmental council will be set up.
Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)Only the first stage of the procedure is complete; documents specifying the treatment facilities have not been received.
The Times of Central AsiaCalls for information and open consultation.
The Times of Central AsiaHow it looked
Shown
- The most environmentally friendly project in any countryThe investor, as quoted by the Ministry of Ecology, 15 July 2025 · Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)
- Construction line 400–500 m from the shore, against a legal minimum of 50 mMinistry of Ecology, 15 July 2025 · Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)
Recorded
- The Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; the state environmental review had passed stage 1 (land selection and allocation) by August 2026.
- Preparatory work on the shore (shoreline reinforcement, land preparation, tree planting) had started before stage 2 of the review.
- Documents specifying the design of the treatment facilities had not been received by the State Center for Environmental Expertise.
- In July 2025 most of the site considered for the first phase was public reserve land, per the district governor.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- uzbekistan-ecology-ministry (2025-07-15): Uzbekistan will support projects that meet ecological standards; the construction line will be 400–500 m from the shore; an international environmental council with independent experts will be set up. · Government of Uzbekistan (Ecology)
- state-environmental-expertise-centre (2026-08-11): The review is at the first stage only; documents specifying the treatment facilities have not been received. · The Times of Central Asia
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- OngoingState environmental review of the Sea Breeze resortState Centre for Environmental Expertise · Regulatory · Sea Breeze Uzbekistan LLC (applicant) → State Centre for Environmental Expertise (reviewer)
Stage 1 (land selection and allocation) was complete and stage 2 pending as of August 2026. Once documents are submitted, the centre has 25 working days to review them. No court case is reported. The Times of Central Asia
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed An environmentally friendly project against an incomplete environmental review
Record
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: land price, lease terms and state incentives; none is stated in the sources.
- Not measured Not measured: environmental impact on the reservoir; preparatory shoreline work began before stage 2 of the state environmental review.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: design documents for the treatment facilities, which the State Center for Environmental Expertise had not received by August 2026.
Did the harm stop?
None on record.
Who paid?
None on record. The planned US$ 5 billion investment is reported by the Times of Central Asia; no source states who pays for the shoreline works.
Sources
Government and regulators
- An environmental approach is planned for the implementation of the Sea Breeze project in UzbekistanGovernment of Uzbekistan (Ecology) · 2025-07-15
Press and investigations
- Charvak resort plan sparks public outcry in UzbekistanThe Times of Central Asia · 2025-07-25
- Sea Breeze Uzbekistan environmental reviewThe Times of Central Asia · 2026-08-11
Connected cases
- Tree felling under the Tashkent moratorium: damage assessments, prosecutor cases and ministry counts Uzbekistan · 2020–2025
- Ministry of Ecology (Uzbekistan) (Public authority) — here: Published the project plan and environmental commitments; there: Counts fellings, assesses damage and limits the Tashkent city ecology department's powers
- Government of Uzbekistan (Government) — here: Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; there: Presidential decree extending the moratorium indefinitely
- Afforestation of the dried Aral Sea bed in Uzbekistan Uzbekistan · 2018–2026
- Government of Uzbekistan (Government) — here: Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; there: Runs the state planting programme; reports the area planted
- Caspian seal mass deaths, 2020–2025 Caspian Sea (Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan) · 2020–2025
- Ministry of Ecology (Uzbekistan) (Public authority) — here: Published the project plan and environmental commitments; there: Gave virus-based explanations for 2022 and 2024
- Navoi city smog of July–August 2025: plant suspensions, court rulings and 10.348 billion soums in compensation payments Uzbekistan · 2025
- Ministry of Ecology (Uzbekistan) (Public authority) — here: Published the project plan and environmental commitments; there: Measured pollutant levels, suspended enterprises and filed claims
- Paid markhor hunt in Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan · 2024–2025
- Ministry of Ecology (Uzbekistan) (Public authority) — here: Published the project plan and environmental commitments; there: Issued the permit and collected the fee; published the statement
- Uzbek cotton boycott ends forced labour Uzbekistan · 2017–2026
- Government of Uzbekistan (Government) — here: Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; there: Government
- Uzbek cotton clusters took farmers' land and set quotas, rights group reports Uzbekistan · 2017–2026
- Government of Uzbekistan (Government) — here: Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; there: Government that set up the cluster system
- World Bank $800m Uzbekistan operation; Tanzania project halted Uzbekistan · 2017–2025
- Government of Uzbekistan (Government) — here: Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; there: recipient of the policy operation
- Yashil Makon tree-planting programme in Uzbekistan Uzbekistan · 2021–2026
- Government of Uzbekistan (Government) — here: Cabinet of Ministers approved the investment project on 1 August 2025; there: Runs the programme; reports planting totals