Port Harcourt
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Port Harcourt is the capital of Rivers State, one of the 36 states in Nigeria. It has also been described as the capital city of the Niger Delta as it is strategically located in the middle of the nine states that constitute the Niger Delta which bothers the coast of Atlantic Ocean and harbours about 30 million inhabitants. Port Harcourt is a very cosmopolitan city and home to people of diverse background, different tribes and races and different socio-economic strata. It has also been described as the "Oil Capital of Nigeria just as Abuja is the political capital, hosting the seat of power of Nigeria hosting the seat of power while Lagos is described as the economic capital of Nigeria. Port Harcourt City has a population of about 1.8 million persons, the 5th most populous City in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Abuja.
Port Harcourt hosts majority of the multinational companies serving the oil industry such as Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), SHELL, Totalfina, Halliburton, etc. It has a very high expatriate population serving and working in various industries. It has direct road access to most of the states of the Niger Delta, two airports (International and local), 2 major seaports, rail line running through the city and 2 major refineries. The state government is in the process of commissioning the "Greater Port Harcourt Mega City" which will be one of the most modern cities in Africa when fully completed. The government is also about to commission its state of the art monorail project which will be the first of its kind in Africa. In terms of gross domestic product and foreign exchange revenue from the oil industry, Rivers State is one of the wealthiest states in Nigeria, crude oil being its main export earner.
Towards the latter half of the last decade, security issues became major concern and challenge in the state and the country. These security issues resulted from agitation by the youths in the Niger Delta for neglect in the development of the region by various administration of the central government despite providing almost 95% of the country's income. This led to armed agitations which occasionally transcended into criminality with kidnappings and robbery of both expats and nationals. Realising the effect of such negative trend on the image and the economy of the state and the nation, the government of Nigeria granted amnesty to the agitating militants. This was followed by demilitarization and disarmamation, and finally re-integration of the armed youths into the real sector of the economy. This re-integration included training and retraining of the militant youths within and outside the country. This move provided the much desired benefits as the city is now peaceful with the return of expatriate community, the various industries and once again a booming economy. The night life has returned and activities are almost back to normal.
The Port Harcourt International Airport is an international airport located in Omagwa, a suburb or Port Harcourt city in Rivers State. The Airport Consists of a single terminal with separate facilities for international and domestic flights. The Airport services direct flights to from Europe to Port Harcourt
Also there are multiple local flights shuttling Lagos and Abuja to the city of Port Harcourt. The city is adorned with hospitality of luxuirious hotels, a few of which are listed
amongst many others