Beira | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Municipal square in Beira | |
  Beira Location of Beira in Mozambique Show map of Mozambique Beira Beira (Africa) Show map of Africa | |
| Coordinates:19°50′S34°51′E / 19.833°S 34.850°E /-19.833; 34.850 | |
| Country |  Mozambique |
| Province | Sofala Province |
| Founded | 1887 |
| City Status | 1907 |
| Named after | Prince of Beira |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Albano Carige[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 633 km2 (244 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Population (2017 census) | |
• Total | 533,825 |
| • Density | 843/km2 (2,180/sq mi) |
| Area code | +258 |
| Climate | Aw |
Beira (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈbejɾɐ]) is the capital and largestcity ofSofala Province, in the central region ofMozambique.[2]
Beira is where thePungwe River meets theIndian Ocean. It is the fourth-largest city by population in Mozambique, afterMaputo,Matola andNampula. Beira had a population of 397,368 in 1997, which grew to 530,604 in 2019. A coastal city, it holds the regionally significantPort of Beira, which acts as a gateway for both the central interior portion of the country as well as the land-locked nations ofZimbabwe,Zambia andMalawi.
Originally calledChiveve after a local river, it was renamed Beira to honour thePortuguese Crown prince DomLuís Filipe (titledPrince of Beira, itself referring to the traditional Portuguese province ofBeira), who had visited Mozambique in the early 20th century. It was first developed by the PortugueseMozambique Company in the 19th century, supplantingSofala as the country's main port. It was then directly developed by the Portuguese colonial government from 1947 until Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Beira is the second largest seaport for international cargo transportation to Mozambique afterMaputo. In March 2019, the city was heavily damaged byCyclone Idai,[3] destroying up to 90% of the city.[4]
Beira is located on theMozambique Channel, anarm of theIndian Ocean located betweenMadagascar andMozambique. The city sits north of the mouth of the convergence of two major rivers of Mozambique: theBuzi River and thePungwe River. The Buzi crosses 250 kilometres (160 mi) acrossManica andSofala provinces to form a wideestuary. The Pungwe crosses 400 kilometres (250 mi) from theEastern Highlands of Zimbabwe also through Manica and Sofala provinces to Beira.[2]
The city was established in 1890 by thePortuguese and soon supplantedSofala as the main port in the Portuguese-administered territory. Originally called Chiveve, after a local river, it was renamed to honor thePortuguese Crown prince DomLuís Filipe who, in 1907, was the first member of the Portuguese royal family to visit Mozambique. Traditionally the Portuguese Crown prince carried the title ofPrince of Beira, ahistorical province ofmainland Portugal.
The Portuguese built the port and a railway toRhodesia, Portuguese families settled in the newly founded locality and started to develop commercial activities. With the growth of the village, in 1907 the Portuguese Crown elevated Beira to the status of city (cidade). Headquarters of theCompanhia de Moçambique (Mozambique Company) from 1891,[5] the city's administration passed from the trading company to the Portuguese government in 1942.[6]
In 1966, the construction of a new railway station was completed. Before Mozambique's independence from Portugal, as a city ofPortuguese Mozambique, Beira was noted for its well-equippedseaport, one of the major facilities of its kind in allEast Africa,tourism,fishing andtrade. The city prospered as a cosmopolitan port with different ethnic communities (Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, Bantus such as theSena andNdau) employed in administration, commerce, and industry.
A large English-speaking population was the result of being a favourite holiday destination forwhite Rhodesians. One reminder of this is theGrande Hotel, built by the Portuguese, near the shore of theIndian Ocean.[7][8] By 1970, the city of Beira had 113,770 inhabitants.
After independence from Portugal in 1975, many white ethnic Portuguese left the city. Mozambique was ravaged by acivil war from 1977 to 1992, opposingMarxistFRELIMO, which controlled the government, to the rebels ofRENAMO, descending to near total chaos in a couple of years. The famine, disease and poverty-stricken country collapsed. In Beira, the famousGrande Hotel was occupied by around 1,000 homeless Beirans, and by the end of the civil war it was in near-ruins.
The2000 Mozambique flood devastated Beira and the surrounding region, leaving millions homeless and severely damaging the local economy.
During the campaign for the local elections in 2013, which culminated in the victory of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) in the municipality, theMunhava district was the scene of violent clashes between police and supporters of the MDM.[9][10]
In 2019,Cyclone Idai caused extreme devastation in Beira.[3] It struck the city on March 14, 2019, with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph), and caused flooding up to six meters deep across Mozambique.[11]
Beira features atropical savanna climate (KöppenAw). Average temperature in January is 27.6 °C (82 °F) and in July (the coldest month) it's 20.3 °C (69 °F). The rainy season runs roughly from November to April.
| Climate data for Beira (Beira Airport) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1961–1990, 2007–2023) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.0 (104.0) | 39.3 (102.7) | 38.5 (101.3) | 37.5 (99.5) | 36.8 (98.2) | 35.8 (96.4) | 35.5 (95.9) | 39.6 (103.3) | 40.1 (104.2) | 43.4 (110.1) | 43.0 (109.4) | 41.0 (105.8) | 43.4 (110.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.4 (88.5) | 31.4 (88.5) | 30.9 (87.6) | 29.1 (84.4) | 28.1 (82.6) | 26.6 (79.9) | 25.4 (77.7) | 26.7 (80.1) | 28.1 (82.6) | 29.4 (84.9) | 30.5 (86.9) | 31.1 (88.0) | 29.1 (84.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.9 (82.2) | 27.3 (81.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 23.5 (74.3) | 21.5 (70.7) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.8 (71.2) | 23.6 (74.5) | 25.3 (77.5) | 26.7 (80.1) | 27.4 (81.3) | 25.0 (76.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.4 (75.9) | 22.1 (71.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 17.6 (63.7) | 16.9 (62.4) | 17.4 (63.3) | 19.7 (67.5) | 21.4 (70.5) | 22.7 (72.9) | 24.1 (75.4) | 21.3 (70.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.5 (65.3) | 19.0 (66.2) | 18.5 (65.3) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.0 (51.8) | 8.3 (46.9) | 8.2 (46.8) | 10.1 (50.2) | 12.0 (53.6) | 13.1 (55.6) | 16.2 (61.2) | 17.0 (62.6) | 8.2 (46.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 250.7 (9.87) | 302.3 (11.90) | 274.4 (10.80) | 139.6 (5.50) | 84.6 (3.33) | 48.3 (1.90) | 47.0 (1.85) | 42.4 (1.67) | 24.6 (0.97) | 38.0 (1.50) | 110.3 (4.34) | 231.6 (9.12) | 1,593.8 (62.75) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.8 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 7.3 | 10.2 | 96.5 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76 | 78 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 76 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 244.9 | 226.0 | 241.8 | 246.0 | 254.2 | 222.0 | 232.5 | 254.2 | 243.0 | 257.3 | 228.0 | 235.6 | 2,885.5 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.9 |
| Source 1:World Meteorological Organization (precipitation 1961–1990)[12]Starlings Roost Weather[13] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity and sun 1961–1990)[14] | |||||||||||||
Access to drinking water and sanitation in Mozambique was historically a major problem, alike many of the sub-Saharan African nations. It has been estimated that in developing countries, around 80% of all disease arises as a direct result of inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene, and contaminated water.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, each day around six thousand people die from diseases caused by poor sanitation, while another 300 million Africans have no access to clean water.
For Mozambique in 1992, around a fifth of the country's households had access to potable water and the situation for wastewater provision was even worse. This was a serious public health issue in an area where cholera, dysentery and other water-borne diseases are endemic.
With the inauguration of the new water treatment plant at Mutua in May 2007, an important milestone was passed in Mozambique's ambitious drive towards improving its provision of potable water and sanitation.
Doubling the supply of water to the cities of Beira and Dondo, the plant was opened by the country's President Armando Emílio Guebuza the day after he formally launched the next stage of the project to deal with Beira's sewage. Construction of the Beira treatment plant was carried out during a period of 30 months and was completed in June 2012.[15]
This latest part of the scheme consists of rehabilitating the existing sanitation network, together with the construction of a number of new system elements to extend and upgrade the sewers, wastewater treatment facilities and a drainage system.
The new water plant cost €5.6m, while the Beira sanitation system cost €62.65m, with the EU providing €52.95m, and the remaining €9.7m provided by the Mozambique Government.
| Year (census) | Population[16] |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 397,368 |
| 2007 | 431,583 |
| 2019 | 530,604 |
Beira has long been a major trade point for exports coming in and out of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and other Southern African nations. Because of this, theport of Beira is the second largest in Mozambique.
The importance of the port was shown during the Mozambique Civil War, when Zimbabwean troops protected theBeira–Bulawayo railway andBeira to Mutare highway in order to continue trade. The railway to Zimbabwe was originally610 mm (2 ft) in 1890, but was converted to1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) in 1900.
In 2008, the Mozambique transportation minister,Paulo Zucula, stated that the government is planning on modernizing the Beira and more northern Nacala ports for an estimated cost of $900m; $500m and 400m respectively.[17] The government has also stated that it plans on modernizing surrounding railway and highway infrastructure so that the port is better connected to the nation's mines.
There is also a ferry service in Beira, linking the city to neighboring cities, including Nova Sofala and other coastal towns. Beira is served by anairport to the northeast of the city, with both domestic and international flights.
The city has three public university campuses, namely the Zambeze University (with headquarters and rectory in the city), the Licungo University and the Higher Institute of Health Sciences.
One of the major universities here is theCatholic University of Mozambique which was established in 1996 by theCatholic church and affiliated with theInternational Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). This private university is locally known as Universidade Catolica de Mocambique (UCM) and has been officially recognized by Mozambique's Ministry of Education and Culture (or Ministério da Educação e Cultura) which oversees the overall education system.[18]
A second major university is the Jean Piaget University of Mozambique, locally termed da Universidade Jean Piaget de Moçambique(UNIPIAGET). ThisPortugal based University was founded in 2004 byInstituto Piaget, a non-profit cooperative, and is just one of seven campuses established across the globe.[19]
There is a Portuguese international school, Escola Portuguesa da Beira.[20]
Among theplaces of worship, they are predominantlyChristian churches and temples:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beira (Catholic Church),Reformed Church in Mozambique,Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique (bothWorld Communion of Reformed Churches),Convenção Baptista de Moçambique (Baptist World Alliance),Universal Church of the Kingdom of God,Assemblies of God,Zion Christian Church,[21] andThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.[22] There are alsoMuslim mosques.
The city is home toClube Ferroviário da Beira (basketball).[citation needed]
Beira has been twinned with Bristol, UK, since 1990 and the Bristol-Beira Link[23] manages a range of projects in education, culture, commerce, and disability.
Beira istwinned with:
Bristol, United Kingdom (since 1990)[24]
Porto, Portugal[25]
Boston, United States (since 1990)[26]
Padua, ItalyCoimbra, Portugal (since 1997)
Bender, Moldova
Luanda, Angola
Gqeberha, South Africa (since 2008)
Beira travel guide from WikivoyageProvincial capitals ofMozambique | ||
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19°50′S34°51′E / 19.833°S 34.850°E /-19.833; 34.850
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