INLAND DRY PORTS: MECHANISMS FOR IMPROVED INLAND FREIGHT DISTRIBUTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study focuses on inland dry ports as mechanisms for enhancing inland freight distribution in Nigeria. It examines how a well thought-out and functional IDP would facilitate improved logistics solutions for shippers in the port’s hinterland and serve as mechanisms through which inland freight distribution could be facilitated in Nigeria. The concept of Distance Decay provides the framework for this paper, which used descriptive survey approach and simple random sampling to produce a sample of 343 out of a population of 1412. The data was analyzed using simple percentage. The findings show that for IDPs to play their role effectively, they must be directly linked with multimodal transport system to seaports. This would enable them to improve the efficiency of seaports, reduce transport costs and transit time for shippers, attract more investment to the hinterland, relieve seaports from congestion, alleviate pressure on storage space and reduce handling operations. The findings confirmed the role of IDPs as mechanisms through which inland freight distribution could be facilitated in Nigeria. The study shows the three most pressing challenges facing the IDP operation in Nigeria as the absence of rail freight services, lack of regulatory framework for inland dry port development and security challenges on the highway. Therefore the paper concludes that the Federal Government of Nigeria has to address the imbalance in modal split in order to resolve the difficulty in inland freight distribution to IDPs, provide adequate security and rehabilitate the major roads to assure the safe and seamless transportation of freight-ladened vehicles on the highways and institute the regulatory framework that encourages shipping companies to issue Through Bill of Lading to shippers in order address the challenges faced by hinterland-based shippers who incur heavy cost and endure hardship while taking delivery or sending their cargoes through the seaports.  Key words: loading units, investment, Intermodal Transportation, friction, decay