Tema Harbour
Encyclopedia
The Tema Harbour is in Tema
, Ghana's most industrialized city. The harbour is located in the southeastern part of Ghana, along the Gulf of Guinea
. It was built 34 years after the smaller of Ghana's harbours – the Takoradi Harbour
in the Western region
was built.
The harbour is Africa's largest man-made
harbour.
before its independence. An old fishing village called Torman was the proposed site for the harbour's construction. The rapid industrialization that followed Ghana's independence led to the town adopting the name Tema from that of the fishing village. After independence, Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah
, begun the construction of the harbour in the 1950s and commissioned it in 1962.
, the capital of Ghana. The harbour has a water-enclosed area of 1.7 million square metres and covers a total land area of 3.9 million square metres. The harbour lies on a 410 acres (166 hectares) of sea.
The harbour has 5 kilometres of breakwater
s, 12 deepwater berths, one oil-tanker berth, one dockyard, warehouses, and transit sheds. In the east of the lee breakwater is a fishing harbour with cold-storage and marketing facilities that handles fishing processing.
, Burkina Faso and Niger
. It also handles trade for industrial and commercial companies that import and export various goods such as petroleum, cement, food, metals, textiles.
The port has a wide range of industrial and commercial companies, producing or handling among other goods petroleum products, cement, food items, iron and steel, aluminium products and textiles.
Most of the country’s chief export, cacao, is shipped from Tema. The harbour handles 80% of Ghana's national exports and imports.
Tema
Tema is a city on the Atlantic coast of Ghana, lying east of the Ghanaian capital city, Accra, in the region of Greater Accra. As of 2005, Tema had a population of 209,000. The Greenwich Meridian passes directly through the city...
, Ghana's most industrialized city. The harbour is located in the southeastern part of Ghana, along the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....
. It was built 34 years after the smaller of Ghana's harbours – the Takoradi Harbour
Takoradi Harbour
The Takoradi Harbour is in the Western region of Ghana. It is the oldest harbour in Ghana. The harbour and the Tema Harbour are the only harbours in Ghana.-History:...
in the Western region
Western Region (Ghana)
The Western Region of Ghana, reaching from the Côte d'Ivoire border in the west to the Central Region in the east, includes the large twin city of Sekondi-Takoradi on the coast, coastal Axim, and a hilly inland area including Elubo. It includes Ghana's southernmost location, Cape Three Points,...
was built.
The harbour is Africa's largest man-made
Man-Made
-Personnel:*Norman Blake - Vocals, guitar*Gerard Love - Vocals, bass*Raymond McGinley - Vocals, guitar*Francis MacDonald - Drums*John McCusker - Violin, viola*John McEntire - Piano...
harbour.
History of the harbour
The construction of the harbour was proposed by the British who ruled the Gold CoastGold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
before its independence. An old fishing village called Torman was the proposed site for the harbour's construction. The rapid industrialization that followed Ghana's independence led to the town adopting the name Tema from that of the fishing village. After independence, Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, begun the construction of the harbour in the 1950s and commissioned it in 1962.
Area of the harbour
The harbour lies along the Gulf of Guinea and is 18 miles from AccraAccra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, the capital of Ghana. The harbour has a water-enclosed area of 1.7 million square metres and covers a total land area of 3.9 million square metres. The harbour lies on a 410 acres (166 hectares) of sea.
The harbour has 5 kilometres of breakwater
Breakwater
Breakwater may refer to:* Breakwater , a structure for protecting a beach or harbour* Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia* Breakwater , a funk and soul band from the 1970s...
s, 12 deepwater berths, one oil-tanker berth, one dockyard, warehouses, and transit sheds. In the east of the lee breakwater is a fishing harbour with cold-storage and marketing facilities that handles fishing processing.
Harbour activities
The harbour serves both as a loading and unloading port for goods. It also serves as a major transit point for goods from land-locked countries to the north of Ghana namely, MaliMali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Burkina Faso and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
. It also handles trade for industrial and commercial companies that import and export various goods such as petroleum, cement, food, metals, textiles.
The port has a wide range of industrial and commercial companies, producing or handling among other goods petroleum products, cement, food items, iron and steel, aluminium products and textiles.
Most of the country’s chief export, cacao, is shipped from Tema. The harbour handles 80% of Ghana's national exports and imports.