The Radach Hotel is located in Tamale, the capital of Ghana's Northern Region, in the centre of the Kingdom of Dagbon, the oldest kingdom in Ghana. Tamale is the third largest city in Ghana and currently has a population of just under 750,000. The fact that there were only just under 150,000 in 1990 makes Tamale the fastest growing city in West Africa. The most important ethnic groups living in Tamale, which is predominantly Muslim, are the Dagomba, Gonja, Mamprusi, Akan and Dagaaba.
After the British established an administrative centre in the region, the town developed from a small village into an important economic centre in the Northern Territories. In 1960, it became the capital of the Northern Region. Tamale's largest economic sector is agriculture, followed by trade, education and manufacturing.
Thanks to its modern buildings and wide roads, Tamale acts as an administrative, financial, commercial and transport hub for Northern Ghana. A number of training centres and secondary schools ensure that the town is also an educational centre.
Significant investment in infrastructure
The immense growth of the city naturally requires an adaptation of the infrastructure. The city now has the third most important airport in the country, Tamale International Airport. Ghana's Finance Minister has just announced that the local government has already invested the impressive sum of 11 billion Ghana Cedi this year to connect rural areas more closely to Tamale and ensure even growth throughout the country. A further six billion Ghana Cedi will follow. This amounts to a total of almost one billion euros, an enormous sum. Up to 400 jobs will be created in the region, which is plagued by unemployment.
And when the population of a city increases fivefold within 34 years, energy supply is one of the key challenges. In Tamale in particular, a switch to solar energy is of course recommended.
Sustainability on the rise in Tamale
EWIA now has a large footprint in Tamale: in addition to the Radach Hotel, our customer Regal Hotel (more on this here) is also relying on the power of the sun and our next project, which we will be presenting to you shortly. We can already reveal this much: It is a recycling company, which we are particularly pleased about, as environmental protection is still in its infancy in many places here.
But perhaps it is already a trend, as Tamale is Münster's project partner city in the Global South in the area of sustainability and SDGs. West Africa and Westphalia hand in hand.
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