Sekondi-Takoradi

Industrial seaport in southwest Ghana, situated on the Gulf of Guinea, 180 km/122 mi southwest of Accra; population (1998 est) 147,400. It is the capital of the western region of Ghana. The old city of Sekondi was founded by the Dutch in the 16th century. The port of Takoradi has an artificial harbour, opened in 1928, and railway engineering, boat building, cigarette, flour milling, cocoa processing, and timber milling industries. The city and the port were merged in 1946.

Sekondi, much the older settlement, grew up from Fort Orange (built by the Dutch in 1640), a trading fort on the coast, and was connected by rail to Kumasi between 1898 and 1903, enabling the export of cocoa, gold, and other commodities. Because Sekondi lacked any natural harbour facilities, Takoradi harbour was built as a deep-water port. It remained Ghana's chief port until the 1960s, when the new port of Tema, near Accra, was opened. During World War II Sekondi-Takoradi served as a major supply base for allied forces. With rail links to the cocoa belt and also to the bauxite mines at Awaso, Takoradi handles just under half of Ghana's overseas trade.