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Northwest region
Geographic situation and borders The Northwestregionincludeswesternparts of theDanubeandBalkannaturalareas -theareabetweentheIskarRiverintheeastandTimokRiver in the west, betweentheDanubeandthenorthridge of theBalkanMountainsinthesouth.
ThenorthernborderistheDanube, wherearebuilttheones of themostsignificantBulgarianriverports - Lom, Vidin. TherearealsoferriesVidin-CalafatandOryahovo-Beckett.On theDanubeis also located NPP "Kozloduy”,whichincreasestheimportance of thenorthernboundary of theregion.
Natural conditions and resources Relief On thesurface of the region therearedifferentreliefforms - parts of theDanubianPlainandStaraPlanina, due to thediversity of geological structure.
Iron Ore; • lead and zinc ores; • copper ores; • gypsum; • limestone and marls. Minerals
Nortwestern region is situated in the moderate - continental climate area. • The average July temperature is about -26°C and the average temperature in January is around 0°C. • The average annual precipitation amount in the plains and lowland parts of the region is between 500 and 600 mm. Climate and resources
Northwest region has got limited in quantity and quality water resources. • With bigger importance are the rivers Iskar, Archar, Ogosta, Skat, Lom, and Tsibritsa River. • Mineral waters of Varshets are a major factor in turning the town into a resort. Waters
Soils • alluvial-meadow soils; • typical and leached black soils; • light gray and dark gray forest soils; • brown forest soils; • mountain meadow soils.
Settlementsnetwork • SettlementsnetworkintheNorthwestregioniscomposed of 398settlements. 24 aretownsand374 are villages. • The average population of the settlements in the region is 1491people (1436 p.in towns and 665p.invillages ) andit is lower than the national average. • European route E79 passes through the region.
The region produces about 10% of the production sector. • Leading sub – sector is plant – growing. • The total area of arable land is 6 million acres. Over67% of them are occupied by cereals - corn, barley, oats, field peas, soybeans, canola. Farming
Economy Since the early 60s many industrial facilities in the chemical industry, energy, industry of construction materials, food processing, engineering and others were built.
Tourism • God's bridge • Cave “Ledenika”
Northwestregionincludesthreecounties: Vidin, Vratsa and Montana. Theyjoin32 municipalities. Administrative-territorial structure
Thecityisthelargestsettlement (64.2thousandpeople), economicandculturalcenter of theregion. • Today Vratsa produces, machinery, furniture,cotton and silk textiles, food products. Vratsa
Montana (47.4thousandpeople) isthesuccessor of theRomancityMontanezium. • Thecityhasаdevelopedmachine building, textile and knitwear industry and production of ceramic floor tiles. Montana
Vidin • Its modern appearance is determined by the production of water pumps, machines for agriculture ,drywall. • Vidin (53,5 thousand people.) isone of theoldest Danubian Roman cities - Bononia. • Today it is almost finished the second bridge over the Danube.
Education, Health and Culture • On the territory of the region there are: • 316secondary and high schools, where study about80000 students; • 20 hospitals where areabout6500beds; • 6theaters, 15cinemas, 18 museums, 366community centers and678libraries.
Problems in the development of the region • Rapid depopulation and people aging . • High level of unemployment. • Environmental problems caused by industry in the region.
Prospects for regional development • Modernization of NPP. • Optimization of the transport on the Danube. • Investing in tourism. • Modernization of Agriculture.
Entrepreneurshipactivitiesin the region • Agriculture in the region - Plants for producing bio-diesel (canola) • Services - Lawyers - Accounting - Automobile showrooms • Building -Danubian Bridge 2 -7-threactorof NPP Kozloduy - Solar energy park • Food industry - meat processing - milk processing • Textile - Cloth Factory