Lomé

Lomé, Togo‘s capital and biggest city, is a hive of trade, history, and culture. Lomé‘s strategic location on the Gulf of Guinea in the southwest corner of Ghana, near its border, supports its status as a major administrative and industrial center. Lomé boasts a metropolitan area with more than 2 million people and 837,424 urban residents as of the 2022 census. This city is very important both culturally and economically.

Lomé‘s development mostly relies on its geographical location. Just a few hundred meters apart, the city and the Ghanaian city of Aflao will create a cross-border agglomeration with almost 2 million people by 2020. Two significant West African cities, Accra and Cotonou, are 200 kilometers apart, confirming its involvement in regional logistics and trade. Essential to the city’s economy, the port facilitates the export of products including cotton, cocoa, coffee, phosphates, and palm oil to surrounding landlocked countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Part of Lomé‘s port, a 1968 free zone forms the city’s economic center. Two container terminals‘ concession to the Bolloré group has made the port—which boasts an oil refinery and a shipyard—a significant hub for world trade. This action did, however, cause some debate and French legal investigation followed. Major contributions to the building material production sectors of the city come from international companies such as Heidelberg Cement.

Despite its modern industrial look, Lomé keeps a rich cultural and historical tapestry intact. German neo-Gothic architectural remains from colonial times, including the Sacred Heart Cathedral and the Palace of the Governors, abound in the early 20th-century city center. Housed in the Palais de Congrès, the Togo National Museum offers a window into the artistic and traditional past of the country with its collections of jewelry, musical instruments, dolls, pottery, and weapons.

Lomé is a contemporary city with more than just industry and past significance. Among the contemporary buildings strewn across the skyline are the venerable Hotel du 2 Février, the West African Development Bank (BOAD), and the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). Rising to 102 meters and 36 stories, this modernist glass and concrete construction is the highest building in Togo.

The Grand Market, a busy three-story complex where visitors may buy everything from dried fish and red peppers to traditional medical remedies, is another draw. The market is also well-known for the “Nana Benz,” ladies known for browsing for vibrant loincloths from both domestic and foreign vendors.

Despite its strong economy and rich cultural legacy, Lomé struggles especially in the tourism sector, which has suffered from political upheaval since the 1990s. Of the 57,539 visitors the city attracted in 2003, a good number came from Benin, France, and Burkina Faso. The city has great potential for this sector, thus constant work is needed to keep political stability and increase tourism.