Sekondi-Takoradi

Sekondi-Takoradi, port city on the Gulf of Guinea (an embayment of the Atlantic Ocean), southern Ghana.

Both the Dutch and the British built forts at Sekondi in the 17th century that were destroyed by the Ahanta. Fort Orange, rebuilt by the Dutch and bought by the British in 1872, survives as a lighthouse. Sekondi flourished in the 1900s after construction of the railroad to the interior goldfields. Its surf port became commercially obsolete, however, with the opening of the artificial harbour at Takoradi in 1928. Sekondi and Takoradi, a single municipality since 1946, became one city in 1963.

Sekondi is a mixture of old and new buildings on a hilly site, extending to the seashore. The old port is used by fishing and pleasure craft, and a naval station is nearby. Takoradi is well-planned, with modern buildings and tree-shaded residential areas. Two breakwaters enclose 220 acres (90 hectares) of sea with quay berths and lee facilities for loading bauxite and discharging oil. The harbour is the terminus of several Ghana railways and is served by road and air. Sekondi-Takoradi also has light industrial, agricultural, and fishing enterprises. Its busy market and street vending activities are conducted by women. Pop. (2000) 289,593; (2010) 539,548.