On October 17, 1961, the city of Darkhan was built with extensive economic assistance from the Comercon. As its name implies, the city was originally conceived to be a manufacturing site for Mongolia's northern territory. Polish specialists built a woodworking plant, brickworks and a lime factory in Darkhan.Hungarians built a meat factory, opened in 1974. The city remains a mostly industrial centre and is the home of some 82% of Darkhan-Uul Province's population. As with most urban Mongols, some 86% of the city's population live in residential apartments, with the remaining population living in yurts (gers) on the outskirts of the city.