Mykolaiv, Ukraine

🇺🇦 Mykolaiv (Микола́їв), previously known as Nikolaev or Nikolayev is a city and municipality in southern Ukraine, the administrative centre of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is arguably the main shipbuilding centre of the Black Sea. Aside from three shipyards within the city, there are a number of research centres specialising in shipbuilding such as the State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center, Zoria-Mashproekt and others.

The city is an important transportation hub of Ukraine (sea port, commercial port, river port, highway and railway junction, airport).

Mykolaiv's orderly layout reflects the fact that its development has been well planned from the founding of the city. Its main streets, including the three main east–west Avenues, are very wide and tree-lined. Much of Mykolaiv's land area consists of beautiful parks. Park Peremohy (Victory) is a large park on the peninsula just north of the city centre of Mykolaiv, on the north side of the Inhul river.

Mykolaiv is divided into four districts: • Tsentralnyi District is located in the north-west of the city. It includes the historic centre of Mykolaiv, Rocket tract, Temvod, Salt, Northern, Ternovka (in Ternovca also acts village council), Matveevka, Varvarovka. • Zavodskyi District is located in the west of the city. In this area, many industrial enterprises are concentrated. It also includes neighborhoods Lescaut and Alluviation, as well as towns of Velyka Koreniha and Mala Koreniha. • Inhulskyi District (former Leninskyi District) is located in the east of Mykolaiv. Among other things, it includes the new Horticulture, YUTZ, New Watering, Old Watering. The district has a zoo, bus and railway stations. • Korabelnyi District is located in the south of the city. It includes a broad beam, Bogoyavlenske (former Zhovtneve), Balabanovka, Kulbakino.

Shipbuilding Today Mykolaiv is a major shipbuilding centre of Ukraine (as, earlier, of the whole Soviet Union) and an important river port. The city has three major shipyards one of which is capable of building large navy ships. Other important industries are mechanical engineering, power engineering, metallurgy and last 10 years – food industry.

Mykolaiv was closed to foreign visitors until the late 1980s because of many clandestine Soviet Navy projects (as well as the Mykolaiv Air Force base, turbine factory and military port). The majority of the Soviet Navy's surface ships including its only aircraft carrier, the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov were built in Mykolaiv.

In May 2011, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych visited Mykolaiv and said that Ukraine is serious about reviving and further developing of its shipbuilding industry in the Mykolaiv region.

Other industries One of the largest enterprises in the city is Mykolaiv Aluminia Factory, which produces aluminia, raw material for the production of aluminum.

In addition to heavy industry, the city has a developed food processing industry, including a juice maker, Sandora, a dairy products maker, Laktalis-Mykolaiv, and a brewery, Yantar. The enterprise Nibulon is one of the leaders in the Ukrainian agrarian market.

The Mykolaiv Armored Factory has been a large repair facility for Ukraine's military during the Russo-Ukrainian War. Engineers at the plant designed an armored ambulance based on the BTR-70 to be used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In January 2017, Mykolaiv Development Agency released a promo video of the city's investment potential.