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Port Harcourt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Port Harcourt, Nigeria | |
| Nickname: "Garden City" | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Province | Rivers State |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Azubuike Nmerukini |
| Area | |
| - City | 186 km² (71.8 sq mi) |
| - Land | 170 km² (65.6 sq mi) |
| - Water | 16 km² (6.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
| - City | 1,113,400 (2,004) |
| estimated | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+1) |
Port Harcourt is the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta.[1] Its mayor is Azubuike Nmerukini.[2]
Port Harcourt was founded in 1912 by the British in an area traditionally inhabited by the Ijaw; it was named after Lewis, Viscount Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies.[3] The initial purpose of the port was to export coal from Enugu. The population was estimated to be 1,113,400 as of 2004.[3]
The city is sprawling in nature as building codes and zoning regulations are poorly enforced. Land is cleared and 'lean to' buildings constructed sometimes overnight. This adds to flooding and sanitation problems since with no proper drainage or sewer system, parts of the city flood during the very heavy monsoon-type rains that fall for half the year.[4] Some of its more popular and well-known residential areas are G.R.A phases 1-5, Abuloma, Amadi-ama, Amadi Flats, Borokiri, Rumodara, Presidential Housing Estate, Rumibekwe Housing Estate, and Elekoia Estate. The main industrial area is located in Trans Amadi. The city's metropolitan area makes up greater Port Harcourt, which consists of Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, Eleme, and Oyigbo.[citation needed] There are two universities within the city, one of which is the University of Port Harcourt.[5] The other is the Rivers State University of Science & Technology.
Port Harcourt also boasts of wide roads and some overhead bridges to ease traffic in the city. These roads and bridges are very poorly maintained, however, and actually add to traffic congestion rather than ease it.[citation needed] Another problem is caused by the installation of traffic lights with no stable electricity supply to power them.
The city is a major industrial center as it has a large number of multinational firms as well as other industrial concerns, particularly business related to the petroleum industry. It is the chief oil-refining city in Nigeria, oil being one of Nigeria's most important commodities and the main foreign exchange earner.
- ^ Port Harcourt. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
- ^ House of Reps Speaker jets into Port Harcourt... Heads for Govt. House. thephctelegraph.com. Port Harcourt Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
- ^ a b Welcome to Port Harcourt. AfricanCities.net. White Pages Limited. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
- ^ RSG moves to check flooding in PH. www.thetidenews.com. The Tide (Port Harcourt), Thursday, May 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
- ^ University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
- The Expat's Guide to Port Harcourt
- Wikimapia
- Photos of Nigeria: Port Harcourt city and Rivers State, and the petroleum industry there
- Official Site of the River State Government
-
- Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
- Aerial image from TerraServer
- Satellite image from WikiMapia