The Province of Samarkand is situated in centre of Uzbekistan in the basin of the Zarafshan River. The total area is 16 400 square kilometers. The climate is typical! continental and arid. The population is 2 322 000 of which three-quarters live in rural areas. The Province is divided into 16 administrative districts with an average population density of 149 people per square kilometer. The administrative center of the Province is the city of Samarkand with a population of 368 000. Other important towns are Kattakurgan, Nurata, Urgurt, Djuma and Aktash. The Samarkand Province has significant mineral resources used for the production of construction materials such as marble, granite, limestone, carbonate, chalk and clue deposits, raw cement, ceramzit and adobe raw materials. Metal processing, foodstuff and china industries are the most active in the area. Enterprises produce spare parts for motorcars and combines, mineral fertilizers, textiles, knitted goods and footwear. The program for the development of industry in the Province stipulates that existing industrial enterprises be reconstructed and updated. Priority industries will be chemicals, foodstuff, flour-milling and mechanical engineering. The Province's major agricultural activities are cotton and cereal growing, winemaking and sericulture. To provide a reliable water source, the Kattakurgan reservoir was built with a wide range of irrigation facilities.