Modern · Yunusabad District

Tashkent TV Tower

A 375-metre television tower completed in 1985 — Central Asia's tallest structure with a public observation deck, plus the Koinot restaurant.

Soviet era1978–198560 min1 min read

Photo: Murodbek Yusupov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

The design was originally drawn up for Baghdad, but a military coup in Iraq stopped the project there. Uzbek Communist Party leader Sharof Rashidov approved it for Tashkent, construction began in 1978, and after six years the tower went into service on 15 January 1985. Because the city lies in an earthquake zone, the four supports and three legs rest on separate reinforced-concrete foundations sunk 11 metres deep.

Preparations and approvals reportedly took longer than the construction itself. When it opened, the tower was the world's ninth-tallest free-standing structure; today it ranks twelfth among TV towers and belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers.

Today

At 375 metres it is the tallest structure in Central Asia with an observation deck open to visitors, set 97 metres above the ground. Guided visits run for tourists and the Koinot restaurant operates inside. The tower still broadcasts television and radio, is listed as an architectural monument, and since November 2019 visitors no longer need to show a passport.