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  Sudan / Cities and Towns /
Port Sudan
Arabic: būr sūdān
City in eastern Sudan with 510,000 inhabitants (2009 estimate), port on the Red Sea, capital of the Red Sea State with 1.4 million inhabitants (2008 estimate) and an area of 219,000 km².
Port Sudan is the main commercial point of imports and exports to Sudan. It was established to benefit from its coral-free harbour; thereby replacing the old port of Suakin which had its harbour choked by corals. Presently, the coral-free channel into Port Sudan is between 20 and 25 metres wide. Port Sudan is also the petroleum centre of Sudan, with a petroleum refinery and an oil pipeline to Khartoum.
Port Sudan is a major port for Muslim pilgrimage travels (hajj and umra) between African and Mecca (by the port of Jedda). Normal tourism has an unexploited potential with the untouched diving reefs and great beaches.
The climate of Port Sudan is harsh, annual rainfall is at desert levels, and nany of the older buildings in Port Sudan had balconies built to catch the wind.
It is well-connected to other urban centres of Sudan by excellent motorways to Khartoum and Wad Madani, but by mediocre roads north to Halaib. There is also a railway connecting to Khartoum. Port Sudan has an international airport, with flights to Cairo and Jedda, as well as to Khartoum.
The population is lagely Arabs and Nubians, most are Muslims.
History
1909: Founded by the British, to repalace Suakin, then as a terminus of the railway between the Red Sea and the Nile river.
1977: Oil pipeline to Khartoum completed.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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