In 1904 the Niassa Company founded the town Porto Amélia, which is presently known as Pemba, and Porto Amélia became the headquarters of the company.
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The territory of the Niassa Company covered the north of Mozambique, above the river Lurio.
Founded in 1954 while Mozambique was still Portuguese East Africa, Niassa did not receive effective protection until the end of the Mozambican Civil War with the signing of the Rome General Peace Accords.
The generic name combines the word Niassa, meaning "lake" in Chiyao and the name of the northwestern province in Mozambique where Niassodon was found, with odontos, meaning "tooth" in Ancient Greek.
In April 2009 it approved the Niassa Provincial Towns Water and Sanitation Project in Cuamba and Lichinga towns, supported by a US$27 million loan.