Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality on the east coast of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It takes in the towns of KuGompo City, Bhisho and Qonce and the large townships of Mdantsane and Zwelitsha. It was established as a local municipality in 2000 after South Africa reorganised its municipal areas, and it is named after the Buffalo River, at whose mouth lies the only river port in South Africa. On 18 May 2011 it was separated from the Amathole District Municipality and converted into a metropolitan municipality. The area has a well-developed manufacturing base in which the auto industry plays a major role, with a large Mercedes-Benz South Africa assembly plant next to the port of East London producing vehicles for export. The climate is mild with year-round sunshine, the 2001 population was 701,873, and its twin towns include Gävle in Sweden and Leiden in the Netherlands.