ASSESSMENT OF THE OPERATIONS, DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The inland waterways transportation (IWT) in Nigeria is one of the most significant modes of transportation for being easily accessible and inexpensive in terms of cost of operations and maintenance. Despite that, inland waterways transportation has remained the most neglected segment of the Nigerian transportation system and is faced with lots of problems. The service of this sector in Nigeria has not been able to meet the required standard even though Nigeria has about 3000 kilometers of inland waterways. Therefore, a great understanding of its operational characteristics, demand, and supply will aid its appreciation and potentials to fix the intermodal connectivity of the Nation’s transportation system and network. To this end, the study aims to assess the operations; demand, and supply of inland waterways transportation in Nigeria. The study was carried out on some selected water routes in Nigeria using the survey research method. Data used were derived from primary and secondary sources. The assessment was done by on-spot surveys and administration of questionnaires to water transport users (passengers and shippers) and all registered operators operating within the twelve selected routes. A total of five thousand six hundred and sixty (5,660) questionnaires were administered for the study and four thousand six hundred and eight one (4,681) were retrieved and analyzed. The data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics for the assessment of operational characteristics and multiple regressions were used for the determination of the factors influencing demand and supply of IWT in Nigeria. It was discovered that about 38.56% of the boat used in Nigeria are unroofed speedboats with a capacity of 15 passengers per trip. The study revealed that 70.59% of the boats are private individuals and 12.50% are a joint venture. The study revealed that IWT in AR and KR1 is under-utilized with a load factor of 0.57 and 0.12 respectively, while in KR2, DR and LR are over-utilized with a load factor of 2.44, 1.75, and 7.7 respectively. Furthermore, the study revealed that different significant factors determine demand across the study routes which is less than the significant value of 0.05. It was also discovered that demand and revenue were the most significant factors that determine the supply of IWT services across all the study routes. Finally, the study also revealed that insecurity and accident remain the major challenges impeding IWT operations in Nigeria. The study recommended that government should improve the inland waterways infrastructure to encourage further investment by the private bodies that can bring about better vehicles. Regional policing in sea robbery hotspots in the routes or regions is recommended.