Valeriy M. Asadchev

Chairman Poltava Regional State Administration

Dear readers!

Poltava Region is one of the most picturesque and well-to-do regions of the state. Riches of Poltava Region are black earths, gas, oil and iron ore, but the most important treasure is wise and hard-working people.

Poltava Region is unique treasury of Ukrainian spirituality and culture. The sources of literary Ukrainian, classic literature, theatre and fine art are on the blessed Poltava land. It is not by accident that Poltava Region is well-known in Ukraine and abroad as a spiritual heart of Ukraine. There is no sphere of the civilized advancement of humanity, which would be enriched with our countrymen.

Through millenniums until now Poltava residents kept traditions of national ceramics, folk trades and painting, which got a push to development and promote becoming of ideas of state creation today. The tree of nation continues to feed from this eternal root and gets new creative impulses. Since ancient times the bread was grown on Poltava fertile black earths and love to growing labour hand down from generation to generation. The present agrarians of the region deservedly continue these traditions introducing the newest technologies of growing and processing of agricultural products.

Today Poltava Region is known as powerful industrial region of the state providing manufacturing of trucks, modern cars for railway transportations, diamond instruments, electric motors which have demand abroad. The mutually beneficial commercial relations with foreign countries, investment attractiveness of the region open new prospects of cooperation on partnership principles.

The famous historical places, unique originality of Poltava land glorified by our countryman Mykola Gogol, healthful water causes the important value of Poltava Region as ecologically friendly territory of rest and tourism. The real decoration of the network of regional health-resort establishments are resorts of Mirgorod and Velyka Bagachka hospitably meeting holiday-makers from many countries of the world.

I sincerely invite to Poltava Region for business cooperation, cognition of traditions and customs of our land.

Yours sincerely,

Valeriy Asadchev       

Poltava Regions belongs to the leading and well-developed regions of Ukraine. This is one of 25 regions of Ukraine situated on the left bank of the river Dnieper, in its middle flow and takes 28 800 sq. km (5% of Ukraine territory). Slowness of its territory from north to the south is 213,5 km, and from west to the east is 245 km. Amount of population is almost 1 500 000 people.

Poltava Region borders upon Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovs'k, Kirovograd, Cherkassy and Kyiv regions.

The colourful region has favourable geographical position, flat relief, temperate continental climate, black earth and thick network of rivers, huge deposits of mineral resources.

By structure of economy the region belongs to industrial-agrarian. In the gross production of industry and agriculture the share of industry is almost 60%.

Poltava Region has developed ore, fuel, machine-building and light industry, agroindustrial complex, sugar-beet production, corn economy and meat-dairy stock-raising.

Poltava residents ensure over 14% of iron-stone, almost 33% of natural gas, to 9% of electric motors, approximately 20% of light and food industry, and also 10% of sugar. The freight car production is approached to 100%.

Almost 70% of regional commodity production is concentrated in Kremenchug and Poltava. Kremenchug takes leading place in machine-building industry foremost in transport, energy and fuel industry. Poltava has well-developed machine-building, food and light industry and also industry of building materials.

The regional food industry and processing of agricultural products is represented by enterprises of meat, milk, sugar, bakery, confectionary, fruit-vegetable and can food, alcoholic and vodka, brewing, oil-fat industries and production of soft drinks.

The regional machine-building industry is represented by over 100 large enterprises. It takes motor and electrical engineering industry, machine-tool building and instrument-making, car building, production of road-building equipment and technological equipment for chemical, food and light industry. Such leading enterprises of machine-building industry increase industrial power of the region as Concern «Kryukiv Car Building Plant», HC «AutoKrAZ», OJSC «Poltava Pipe Mechanical Plant», OJSC «Poltava Diamond Factory» and many others.

The pride of Poltava Region is giant of Ukrainian ferrous metallurgy OJSC «Poltava Mining and Concentrating Integrated Works». Main product of the company is iron-ore concentrate with content of iron to 65% and fluxed pellet for blast-furnace shops of iron and steel works.

Poltava Region is the leading oil and gas region of Ukraine. Almost 40% of Ukrainian gas and every quarter of oil and condensate are extracted in its bowels of the earth, rich in unique deposits of fuel-energy and mineral resources. Originality of oil and gas industry of the region is that the structure of complex includes all stages from prospecting of bowels of the earth to hydrocarbon refining.

One of the biggest oil-refining companies of Ukraine is Transnational Financial-Industrial Company «UkrTatNafta» making over 80 types of oil products.

The basis of agro-industrial complex is agriculture characterized by developed production of corn, milk and technical crops. Now 522 enterprises of different forms of property cultivating over 2 mln. ha of land, including 1,7 mln. ha of plough-land function in the agricultural complex.

The traditional sector for Poltava Region is stock-raising. Over 384 300 heads of cattle are counted in all categories of farms (including private sector). Poltava Region has one of the biggest pedigree bases in Ukraine. The region has 30 pedigree enterprises of cattle and 35 for breeding pigs of white and Mirgorod breeds. The horse breeding is being developing. The horses of Dibrivsky stud farm, Mirgorod District is known abroad by its records.

The regional building industry makes 250 building enterprises. Building materials as brick ordinary and silicate, mixed reinforced concrete, macadam granite of factions, bitumen travel and roof, dry building mixtures, commodity concrete, tile granite facing of different thickness and colour, other types of materials are made by 40 specialized industrial enterprises and almost 250 small enterprises in the region.

7667 small enterprises operate in Poltava Region. In branch structure the small business has been developing mainly in the field of wholesale and retail trade, trade in transport vehicles, repair services (36,7%); industry and building, (13,4 and 11,1% accordingly). For simplification of issuing documents to the business entities they created centers for issuing permission documents in all cities and districts of the region.

Today the regional guidance realizes strategy directed on economy restructuring.

The regional external trade turnover of goods and services for 9 months of 2006 made USD 3523,9 mln. Export of goods and services is USD 1385,7 mln. and import – USD 2138,2 mln. The region exports facilities of ground transport; machines, equipment and mechanisms, electric machines. By export volumes the region takes sixth place in Ukraine.

The gross volume of direct foreign investments in economy of Poltava Region in 2006 made USD 302,9 mln. The biggest volumes of investments in the region are from Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands, United States of America and Cyprus.

Among examples of joint activity is cooperation of MNPK «Vladimir» (Kremenchug), CJSC «UkrTatNafta», «Kremenchug Car Plant» Ltd, Corporation «D-Star», OJSC «Poltavakonditer» and others.

Poltava Region is rich in medical sources of mineral waters with bioactive matters. Sanatoriums, rest-homes, tourist bases are located in the districts of these sources. Most known of them is resort «Mirgorod», Sanatorium «Psyol» (Velyka Bagachka) etc. The network of hotels which material base is actively modernized assists to development of tourist business. Majority of them is concentrated in Poltava, Mirgorod and Kremenchug.

There are 339 territories and objects of the natural-protected fund: 151 protected areas, 117 sights of nature, 18 sights of garden-park art, 3 regional landscape parks, dendropark, over 50 protected natural areas and others. Untraditional routes with active method of motion successfully complemented services of agrotourism and rural green tourism are developed.

In the regional educational sphere the establishments of new type operate successfully: Higher vocational school №7 (Kremenchug), Interregional center of professional preparation of retired servicemen (Khorol), Art vocational school №28 (Reshetylivka).

The potential of State higher educational establishment №31 rose due to creation of universities and academies on the base of former institutes. Among leaders of high school in the region there are Poltava V.G. Korolenko State Pedagogical University, Poltava Yuriy Kondratyuk National Technical University, Kremenchug State Polytechnic University, Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy, Poltava Agrarian Academy and Poltava University of Consumer Co-operation of Ukraine.

There is invaluable payment of Poltava residents in the treasury of national and world culture. Poltava Region is the motherland of philosopher with world name Grygoriy Skovoroda, founder of Ukrainian literature Ivan Kotlyarevsky, pioneer of rocket theory and technique Yuriy Kondratyuk, designers of missal technique Yuriy Pobedonostsev and tanks M. Dukhov, artists G. G. Myasoyedov, M. Bashkyrtseva, teachers L. S. Makarenko, V. O. Sukhomlynsky, composers M. V. Lysenko, I. I. Dunayevsky and many other figures of science and culture.

Due to rich historical and spiritual treasury, resource and industrial potential Poltava Region is one of the best regions of our country. And hard-working, persistent and selfless people saintly saving ancient traditions of the region and increasing its riches, confidently create their future.