Tema
| Tema | ||
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| City | ||
First-Left picture: Cargo ships with Intermodal containers being loaded in the Industrial Tema Harbour • First-Top right picture: Petroleum Processing and Refining Plant and Natural-Gas Processing Plant in Tema • Second-Bottom right picture: Valco Roundabout of State-owned Aluminium Corporation Valco (Volta Aluminum Company) in Tema.
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 Tema
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| Coordinates: 5°40′N 0°0′W / 5.667°N -0.000°E | ||
| Country |
 Ghana
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| Admin. Region | Greater Accra Region | |
| District | Tema Metropolitan District | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Isaac Ashai Odamtten | |
| Elevation | 1 m (3 ft) | |
| Population (2013) | ||
| • Total | 161,612 | |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC0) | |
| • Summer (DST) | GMT (UTC) | |
| Area code(s) | +233 (0) 30 3 plus 6 digit number | |
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Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of approximately 161,612 people – a marked decrease from its 2005 figure of 209,000. The Greenwich Meridian (00 Longitude) passes directly through the city. Tema is locally nicknamed the "Harbour Town" because of its status as Ghana's largest seaport.
Tema is a city constructed on the site of a small fishing village. Tema was commissioned by Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and grew rapidly after the construction of a large harbour in 1961. It is now a major trading centre, home to an oil refinery and numerous factories, and is linked to Accra by a highway and railway. Tema is one of Ghana's two deep seaports, the other being Sekondi-Takoradi. Tema became an Autonomous Council in 1974 and was elevated to the status of a Metropolitan Assembly in December 1990. Tema metropolitan forms part of the sixteen (16) Metropolis, Municipalities and Districts in the Greater Accra Region. The Metropolitan shares boundaries with Ashaiman Municipal, Adentan Municipal, and ledzokuku Krowor Municipal to the west respectively, to the east with Kpone Katamanso District, to the North with Dangme West District and to the South with the Gulf of Guinea.
Before the independence, the government identified a small fishing village called Torman as the site for an ultra modern seaport for the new Ghana. Torman residents also grew the calabash plant (gourd), known as Tor in the local language, hence the name of the village Tor-man (gourd-land) which was corrupted to TEMA.
In 1952, the government acquired 166 square kilometres (64 sq mi) of land north of the harbour, and entrusted it to the Tema Development Corporation. The "New Town" that was subsequently built on the site was planned as an industrial and residential complex. The villagers of Torman were ejected to make way for the project, and migrated to a new fishing ground around 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away.
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