Kirovograd region

Square: 24.6 ths. sq. km.
Center of the region: town of Kirovograd.
Administrative and territorial division: 21 districts.
Population: 1 002.4 ths. people.

Geographical position

The region is situated at the right bank of the Dnieper river in central part of Ukraine. It is located at the border between forest steppe and steppe zones. Rivers of the region belong to the systems of the Dnieper and Yuzhnyi Bugh. The largest attributes of the Dnieper are Tyasmin, Ingulets, and Tsybulnik and inflows of Yuzhnyi Bugh are Ingul, Sinyukha, and Sinitsa.

Transportation network

Transportation sector has good prospects of development considering its convenient geographical location in the center of Ukraine.

The total length of railways in the region is 884 km. Znamenka, Pomoshnaya, and Gaivoron are the largest railway junctions. Road transportation is well developed. Dnieper river is navigable (loading dock of Svetlovodsk). Kirovograd is connected by air with large cities of Ukraine.

Economic potential

Kirovograd region is agrarian and industrial by pattern of its regional economy.

The weightiest sectors in the pattern of regional industrial production are food industry, machine building, metal work, electric power engineering, and construction materials’ industry. Sugar sector leads the way in food industry. The share of foodstuffs makes 83% in the pattern of consumer goods’ production.

Small entrepreneurship gradually becomes one of the most important factors of economy development and securing of regional population employment.

Favorable economic situation for all participants of investment process had positive impact on financial and economic status of enterprises and organizations of construction complex.

Taking into consideration potential capacities of construction organizations for building and upgrading of industrial and agricultural companies, development of transportation network, construction, reconstruction of housing construction, and municipal objects, this sphere of economy has perspectives for territorial development.

Natural and recreational potential

Location of the region in the center of powerful Ukrainian fundamental crystalline formations stipulates availability of multiple mineral resources’ deposits. There are 270 deposits at the territory of the region. Mineral and raw stock basis of the region by 15.7% consists of fuel and power generating mineral resources, by 57.7% of raw stock for production of construction materials, and by 26.6% of ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, and rare earth metals, as well as reserves of sweet and mineral waters.

Golden ore deposits make the basis for creation of gold mining and gold processing industries in the region. More than 10 ore occurrence were discovered. Some sampling materials contain up to 400 grams of gold per 1 ton of stone.

The region hosts the only in Ukraine deposits of chromite ores (Golovanovskiy district) and shale oil (Aleksandrovskiy district).

Geological composition of the region allows to have almost inexhaustible reserves of natural building stone. These are granites, migmatites, gneiss, quartzites, charnokites and other rocks of crystalline shield. The region possesses unique reserves of heavy-duty facing stones in different colors and shades (black, pink, grey, and red). Its ornamentality matches the best world samples.

Fertile black earth soils of the region represent its true value. Soil covering of the region reflects its location in transition area from southern forest steppe to northern steppe and consists of more than 50 different soils. Black earths are the richest soils on the Earth. They have powerful humus horizon rich in organic substances that grades laterally in parent rock material.

Kirovograd region pays attention to expansion of natural and reserve territories and objects’ network.

Landscape reserve Chernolesskiy/Black forest, botanical wildlife reserves Granitnaya step/Granite steppe and Sadkivskaya steppe, general zoological reserve Polozova balka, hydrological natural monument Chernyi les/Black forest, dendrological park Veselye Bokoven’ki, and parks-monuments of landscape architecture Onufriyevskiy park, Khutor Nadezhda, and others were granted the status of national importance reserves. They play an important role in preservation of endangered, rare, and surviving plants and animals, and rare groupings. In fact these territories are natural open air museums.

Historical and cultural potential

The most interesting tourist objects are: ruins of fortifications of Chernolesskoye ancient settlement of VII century B.C., fortress of Saint Elizabeth of XVIII century, complex of cavalry cadet military school of ХIХ century, Svyato-Pokrovskaya/Saint Protection church of 1849, Grechesko-Vladimirskaya/Greek Vladimir church (cathedral) of ХIХ century, Krestovozdvizhenskaya/Exaltation of the Cross church - burial-vault of Rayevskiye family of 1833–1855, former private house – example of town house architecture of the late ХIХ century, complex of Saint Anna Red Cross hospital – neorussian style of ХIХ–ХХ centuries, local lore museum – modern style private house of 1885–1905, synagogue of ХIХ century, former gymnasium of 1891–1898, town hospital of 1910–1913, former theater of 1890s, Svyato-Voznesenskaya/Saint Ascension church of 1898–1912, Svyato-Nikolayevskaya/Saint Nicholas church of 1853–1873, and Onufrievskiy park of XVIII century.

The following materials were used for preparation of the article:
Kirovograd regional state administration,
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine,
Ministry of foreign affairs of Ukraine