Tashkent is the capital and the largest city in the country. According to the National Statistics Committee, the capital accounts for the largest volume of construction work and industrial output in the country; because land is limited, it has been proposed that industry and retail in the city should grow “upwards”, and of schools and kindergartens alone the capital needs to build 75 each (the President’s press service). The range of projects in Tashkent is the most diverse: residential and office high-rises, shopping and exhibition centres, hospitals, schools, hotels, underground and multi-storey car parks, production sites on the outskirts. That is why in Tashkent fire protection comes first — of load-bearing structures, cable runs, penetrations and ductwork. Corrosion protection and equipment grouting are needed here too, but more often as part of an overall solution for the building. Below is what affects the choice of coatings in urban conditions and how we help with projects in the capital.
The city’s climate through a coatings technologist’s eyes
Tashkent has a continental climate: summers are long, hot and dry, winters bring frosts and thaws, and most of the precipitation falls in the cold half of the year. Once in ten years summer temperatures reach +42.5 °C and winter temperatures fall to −17 to −18 °C; since the beginning of the last century the number of days with heavy precipitation in the city has been rising (Fourth National Communication under the UNFCCC, 2024). Dust storms reach the capital too: in November 2021 the dust concentration in the city reached 30 times the maximum permissible level, and the high dust load persisted for three days. For coatings this leads to three practical conclusions.
- In summer the problem is heat, not humidity. Steel in the sun heats up much more than the air: the solvent flashes off while still in the spray fan, and the pot life of two-component mixes shortens. Work is moved to the morning and evening, the area is shaded, and the surface temperature is checked against the material’s technical data sheet.
- In winter and the shoulder seasons, condensation is the danger. Cold steel in an unfinished building easily ends up below the dew point. Water-based intumescent paints also dry slowly in cold, damp conditions — for a winter schedule a heated enclosure is set up, or a solvent-based material with a suitable temperature range is chosen.
- Construction site dust and traffic exhaust. The city is surrounded by mountains that hinder air circulation, and pollution is most pronounced in autumn and winter (Ministry of Ecology); soot and dust on steel are a reason to check surface cleanliness before every coat. For exposed steel within the city the corrosivity category is, as a rule, C3–C4, but it is confirmed for the specific facility to ISO 9223 and ISO 12944-2: conditions next to a main road, next to a boiler house and in the courtyard of a residential block are different.
Seismicity also has to be taken into account: Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 727 of 17.11.2025 assigns the districts of the capital to zones of intensity 8 to 9 on the MSK-64 scale, and the design sets the loads on anchors and equipment supports with this in mind.
Where fire protection is needed in the capital’s buildings
The required fire resistance ratings are determined by the design under ShNK 2.01.02-04, depending on the building’s degree of fire resistance and functional fire hazard class — for more detail, see the overview of the codes of Uzbekistan. In practice, the elements most often protected in Tashkent are:
- columns, beams and bracing of the frames of high-rise and mixed-use complexes — for exposed steel, thin-film intumescent paints are convenient; for high ratings and concealed structures, plasters and boards;
- trusses and purlins of the long-span roofs of shopping, sports and exhibition halls;
- cable runs in shafts and corridors — fire protection coatings and enclosures;
- penetrations of pipes, cables and ducts through fire walls and floors — sealants, foams, collars;
- smoke extraction systems and transit ducts — mats and boards;
- reinforced concrete floor slabs in car parks where the actual concrete cover to the reinforcement is insufficient — fire protection of concrete.
If the design was produced by a foreign firm to EN or UL, the fire protection section has to be brought in line with the codes of Uzbekistan before the expert review, not on site: we do this as part of adapting design documentation and recalculate the thicknesses for the actual sections.
Corrosion protection and grouts
Under fire protection, steel is almost always primed, and the primer must be on the fire protection manufacturer’s list of compatible materials. In a heated space the requirements for it are moderate. In underground car parks, service floors and unheated annexes conditions are harsher: condensation, moisture and dirt from vehicle wheels, exhaust gases — here the system is selected as for a more aggressive environment. Exposed structures — canopies, facade substructures, external stairs — need a UV-resistant topcoat: polyurethane or polysiloxane, not epoxy, which chalks in the sun.
Grouting in the city means the column bases of steel frames, anchor bolts, and equipment in boiler houses, pumping stations and rooftop chiller plants. For static supports a non-shrink cementitious grout is sufficient; for pumps and compressors with vibration, an epoxy one; anchors in existing concrete are installed with resins that hold a suitable technical assessment — see anchoring.
How we help with projects in Tashkent
- we review the coatings section of the design free of charge — for designers;
- we calculate fire protection thicknesses from the steelwork schedule and prepare the justification for the expert review and the fire supervision authority;
- we prepare painting specifications and inspection plans in Russian and English — for projects with a foreign main contractor;
- we provide technical supervision: thickness and adhesion measurements, monitoring of application conditions, reports for acceptance;
- we supply materials to the site or to a warehouse in any district of the city; delivery times are agreed to suit the volume and the erection schedule.
Sites outside the capital — in Chirchiq, Almalyk, Angren and Bekabad — are covered on the Tashkent Region page; other regions are collected in the “Regions” section.
Questions about projects in the capital
Can water-based fire protection paint be applied in winter?
Only if the temperature, humidity and margin above the dew point specified in the technical data sheet are maintained on site — both during application and while the paint dries. This usually means a closed, heated envelope. If there is none, solvent-based products approved for use in the cold are considered.
The design was produced by a foreign firm. What should be done with the fire protection section?
Compare the required fire resistance ratings with ShNK 2.01.02-04, check whether the selected material has test results that will be accepted in Uzbekistan, and recalculate the thicknesses. It is better to do this before the expert review — replacing a material on site costs more.
Can fire protection be applied over old paint during refurbishment?
Only after checking: the old coating must be firmly attached to the steel, and the fire protection manufacturer must confirm compatibility with it. If the composition of the old paint is unknown, a trial area with adhesion testing is carried out, or the paint is removed down to bare steel. This is a common question when a warehouse or workshop is converted into an office or a shopping centre.
Building or refurbishing a project in Tashkent? Send us the steelwork schedule, the design section or photographs, and an engineer will tell you where to start. Call us or message us on WhatsApp and Telegram: +998 94 094 52 27; drawings are best sent to info@ognezashita.uz.