Beira

Beira is the third largest city in Mozambique. It lies in the central region of the country in Sofala Province, where the Pungwe River meets the Indian Ocean. Beira had a population of 412,588 in 1997, which grew to an estimated 546,000 in 2006. It holds the regionally significant Port of Beira which acts as a gateway for both the central interior portion of the country as well as the land-locked nations of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Beira was originally developed by the Portuguese Mozambique Company in the 19th century, and directly developed by the Portuguese colonial government from 1947 until Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975.GeographyBeira is located on the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean located between Madagascar and Mozambique. The city sits north of the mouth of the convergence of two major rivers of Mozambique: the Buzi River and the Pungwe River. The Buzi crosses 250km across Manica and Sofala provinces to form a wide estuary. The Pungwe crosses 400km from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe also through Manica and Sofala provinces to Beira.