Port Harcourt is the capital and largest city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It ranks as the fifth-largest city in the country and is located in the Niger Delta along the Bonny River. The city’s rich crude oil reserves attract businesses and investors, making it a major hub for trade and commerce. Port Harcourt is known for its deep-sea ports and natural sandy beaches. The port was built in 1912 by Frederick Lugard to export coal from Enugu and was later named after colonial secretary Lewis Harcourt. Before its construction, the area was inhabited by the Ijo and Ikwere people, who were displaced by the colonial government. In 1956, crude oil was discovered nearby, transforming Port Harcourt into the center of Nigeria’s oil industry. After independence in 1960, the city saw rapid modernization and urban growth, becoming the country’s second-largest seaport and a key commercial hub in eastern Nigeria.
Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State in southern Nigeria, is a major port city located along the Bonny River, an eastern distributary of the Niger River, about 66 km (41 miles) upstream from the Gulf of Guinea. Founded in 1912 in an area traditionally inhabited by the Ijo and Ikwere people, it was named after Lewis Harcourt, the colonial secretary. The city became an important port after the rail link to the Enugu coalfields was completed in 1916. Today, it is one of Nigeria’s largest ports, handling exports such as palm oil, palm kernels, timber, coal from Anambra, tin and columbite from the Jos Plateau, and petroleum from the eastern Niger Delta. Port Harcourt also has bulk storage facilities for palm oil and petroleum, with expanded port facilities at Onne.
Port Harcourt is a leading industrial hub in Nigeria. The Trans-Amadi Industrial Estate, located 6 km (4 miles) north of the city, spans 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) and houses industries producing tires, aluminum products, glass bottles, paper, steel structures, corrugated tin, paints, plastics, furniture, cement, and more. Nigeria’s first oil refinery, built in 1965, is situated in Alesa-Eleme, 19 km (12 miles) southeast of the city. Pipelines transport oil and natural gas to Port Harcourt and Bonny, 40 km (25 miles) south-southeast, as well as refined petroleum to Makurdi in Benue State. The city also has boatbuilding, fishing, and fish-freezing industries.
Port Harcourt is home to the University of Port Harcourt (established in 1975) and Rivers State University of Science and Technology (founded in 1972 and granted university status in 1980). The Nigerian Naval College is located in nearby Onne. The city serves as the starting point for the eastern branch of the Nigerian Railways main line and a major trunk highway network. Additionally, an international airport is situated 11 km (7 miles) north of the city.
Population (2016 estimate): Urban agglomeration – 2,075,000.
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