|
Geographical Information
Area - 20,100 sq. km
Population 1,200,000
The Rivne oblast is located in the northwestern part of Ukraine. It extends for 130 km from the west to the east, for 210 km from the north to the south, it borders on Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Lviv and Volyn oblasts of Ukraine and Brest and Gomel oblasts of Belarus.
As to administrative and territorial division the oblast includes 16 districts, 44 cities and 6 towns.
Population structure of the oblast makes up 52.5% of rural population of the total number, urban-47.5%.
The forest stock area is 853,000 ha, including lands covered with forest of 794,000 ha, the total reserve of wood being 100 million cu. m.
The Rivne oblast is rich in surface waters. There are 171 rivers, each over 10 km long, above 500 lakes, 31 reservoirs.
The deposits valuable for the oblast (615 altogether) have been registered in the oblast territory, there are deposits of the building and facing stone, basalt, phosphorite, burstine, peat, kaolin, chalk, carbonate raw materials, sand etc.
35 deposits of building stone have been explored in the oblast, 22 of them are under exploitation. Reserves come to about 500 million cu. m. The level of these raw materials extraction have been thrice decreased as compared to 1990 and makes up 3-3.5 million cu. m.
The oblast is rich in resources of high block granite, quartz diorite, gabbro which are used to make architectural building parts (ornaments, bas reliefs, columns, etc.) or ground facing slabs.
The explored reserves of 8 deposits make up 16.7 million cu. m. As of now the Klesivske and Osmalynske granite deposits, Yasnohirske and Bronislavske deposits of gabbro in the Sarny and Bereznivske districts are under exploitation.
As to its geological structure the oblast is a monopolist of basalt natural raw materials in Europe. It numbers 7 explored deposits of basalt, their reserves making up 166.5 million cu.m. Now, today 5 deposits are under exploitation, 6 enterprises operating on their base. Last year the oblast has excavated 650 cu. m. of blocks, 8,000 cu. m. of rubble stone, produced 110,000 tons of rough basalt, 129,000 cu. m. of crushed rock, 1,500 cu. m. of granulated crumb, 5,600 cu. m. of screenings.
However, production of such unique raw materials as rubble stone and crushed rock is not rational. As to their physical chemical properties basalt are good for production of fine and superfine fibers and mineral wool which serve for making sound absorbing and heat sound insulating materials, being widely used in civil engineering, manufacturing of aircraft, carriages and ships.
"Posyagva", the largest deposit in the Hoshcha district, has ore reserves over 20 million t. Such a deposit as "Kopytkiv" in Zdolbuniv district with reserve of 9,5 million t is the most favorable as to geological mining conditions.
According to the data of Derzhkomgeologia, the predicted reserve of burstine in the Rivne oblast territory makes up about 7 000 tons. As of on 01. 01.98 they have explored two deposits of burstine which reserves make up 104 tons. The works on search for new deposits at four more sites of the oblast are approaching to the end.
|
Industry
Industry and agriculture hold the leading position in the total body of material production.
Industrial enterprises of all forms of property (226 altogether) are currently operating in the oblast, their total annual volume of production is above Hr 1,5 million, the number of employees coming to 80,000 .
The structure of industrial production of the oblast is as follows: power producing industry 45.9%, machine building and metal working 3.8%, chemical and petrochemical industry-12.2%, forestry, paper and woodworking industries- 5.6%, light industry 7.6%, food industry 17.6%, production of building materials 3.2%, others 4.1%.
Such companies as Rivne Tractor Units Plant, "Gazotron", Radio Engineering Plant, "Rivnesilmash", Rivne Plant of High Voltage Equipment are among the leading enterprises of machine building and metal working.
"Rivnelyon" producing flax fabrics for domestic and technical purposes as its main production and Rivne Factory of Non-Woven Fabrics, and "Dubrotex" (cotton spinning mill) run in the light industry of the oblast.
Chemical industry is represented by "Rivneazot" producing nitrogen and phosphate mineral fertilizers, synthetic ammonia, sulfuric, nitric and adipinic acids.
The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant functions on the oblast territory, its three operating power units generating totally 1818 MW.
Forestry and woodworking as well as building material production take significant place. There are three woodworking and integrated house building factories, 9 furniture factories, 14 enterprises on mining and treatment of stone, "Volyn" company (cement corrugated tile integrated plant).
Food industry involves 6 sugar plants, enterprises on meat and milk processing, a number of canneries, distillery, confectioneries, etc.
Power saving technology for production of decorative non woven fabrics for furniture and motor industries has been introduced at the "Factory of non woven Fabrics" company.
The line on production of 1000 cu. m of wood containers has been put into operation at "Rivne Plant for High Voltage Equipment" company.
Activity is carried out to produce spare parts for cars and buses at the "Rivne Plant of Tractor Units" association.
Production of copper wire with temperature index has been set up at the "Aquaton" firm, high technological treatment of natural stone is under introduction at the "Verstatnyk"firm.
Transport and Communications
The oblast has favorable geographical location and developed transport network.
The length of roads of general use is 5 237 km.
The oblast is crossed by highways Kyiv-Warsaw, Kyiv-Brest, Kyiv-Lviv, Kyiv-Chernivtsi.
Large junction stations of the towns of Zdolbuniv, Sarny and the city of Rivne serve main railway lines crossing the oblast territory.
The operation length of railways of general use is 187 km.
One of the most contemporary airports in Ukraine is situated in the oblast center.
|
Agriculture
The oblast and especially its northern Polissia areas are characterized by complicated conditions for the development of agricultural production. These are as follows: low natural fertility of soils, swamps and excessive moistening of the territory, high level of erosion in the territory of southern districts, small areas of productive lands and especially their radioactive contamination as a result of Chernobyl catastrophe.
All this requires continuous agro technical, reclamation, anti erosion, nature protective and economic and organization undertakings directed to maintain productivity of agricultural works.
There are 344 collective agricultural enterprises, 17 state farms, a number of agro industrial structures: agrofirms, agroassociations, integrated plants, 419 private farms. They use above 686,000 ha of agricultural lands, including 508,000 ha of arable lands.
The average annual number of employees involved in public agricultural production makes up 90,000 workers.
Collective agricultural enterprises and state farms of the oblast are specialized in the growing of cereals, potato, sugar beet, flax and in meat and milk production.
Cattle breeding makes up 5% and plant growing-50% in the structure of gross production of agriculture (in all farm categories).
Foreign Economic Relations
The foreign trade turnover of the oblast made up $ 422.8 million, including export $ 173 million import $ 249.8 million (in 1997), trade was carried on with 62 countries of the world.
Building materials, mineral fertilizers, sugar and sweets, organic chemical compounds, wood and wood articles, meat and milk products, etc. are the basis of export structure.
The oblast import mainly consists of chemical products, mineral fuel, oil and products of its refining, products of inorganic chemistry, cotton, paper, cardboard, etc.
At the beginning of the current year enterprises and organizations of the oblast have put into action 24 foreign investments summing to $ 12.1 million. Innovation projects of Hr 19.5 million have been financed.
In accordance with the developed program the innovation and investment activity of enterprises of the oblast and organizations for 1997-1998 the investment demand in 1998 makes $ 102 million. Machine building, light and food industries, basalt processing are the main fields for investing.
|
