SEKONDI-TAKORADI

(Redirected from Takoradi)

'Sekondi-Takoradi', population 335,000 (2005), is the capital of the Western Region of Ghana. It is Ghana's third largest city and an industrial and commercial center. The chief industries are timber, plywood, cigarettes, shipbuilding and railroad repair. It lies on the main railway lines to Accra and Kumasi.

Sekondi, older and larger, prospered from a railroad built in 1903 to hinterland mineral and timber resources. Takoradi has an important deepwater seaport, Ghana's first, built in 1928. Both stemmed from 17th Century Dutch, Swedish and English forts. The cities combined in 1946.
Takoradi has a well-equipped technical training centre (Takoradi Technical Institute, TTI, 1,400 students in two shifts) assisted by the German Government through GTZ/GOPA.
Apart from TTI, Takoradi has a polytechnic and other renowned secondary schools including Ghana Secondary Technical School which has produced of the greatest aeronautical engineers in the world today.
Takoradi is also a port city and has timber, energy, and technology industries. Over the years it has attracted a good number of investors, including miners as the city is close to the mining towns in the western part of Ghana.
Its has a lot of beautiful beaches which also attracts tourist world wide.
Sekondi-Takoradi is a Sister City of Boston (Massachusetts, USA), Oakland (California, USA) and maintains a link with Plymouth, England.
Takoradi Technical Institute houses a Fabrication Laboratory, equipped by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is the first of its kind in Africa.
Mercy Foundation International is an organization that works with vulnerable children and street children. It has recently opened an internet café and computer training center to encourage familiarity with computers and help them acquire computer skills.