Rail connectivity to ports crucial to maritime trade- Research Center

The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has stressed the need for connecting rails to Nigerian seaports to boost maritime trade efficiency and national economic growth.

Mr Eugene Nweke, Head Researcher at the center, said this in an interview with newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

He said that Nigeria’s intermodal transport system remained structurally weak and operationally inefficient, with over 90 per cent of port cargo evacuated by road.

He said such overdependence had resulted in chronic port congestion, high logistics costs, infrastructure degradation, and loss of regional trade competitiveness.

“Despite the existence of rail lines, inland waterways, and dry ports, the absence of rail transport integration has rendered the system effectively monomodal.

“SEREC has identified such structural gaps and proposes an actionable reform to reposition Nigeria as a competitive maritime hub in West Africa.

“The government should enforce rail connectivity to all major ports, promote barge operations through incentives, activate and connect inland dry ports.” he said.

Nweke said that Nigeria’s current transport system undermines its maritime potential.

“Port evacuation is heavily truck-dependent as rail connectivity to ports is limited and underutilised; inland waterways remain largely untapped with dry ports operating below capacity.

“The current state of intermodal transport was 90per cent to 95per cent by road, five per cent by rail and seven per cent by inland waterways.

“This increases the cost of doing business as high inland transport costs inflate the prices of goods and reduce competitiveness.

“This disconnect between seaports and an inland logistics network has continued to undermine trade efficiency,” he said.

Nweke also identified the challenge of cargo diversion, saying neighbouring ports attract cargos due to better logistics systems while Nigeria loses billions of revenues.

He therefore stressed the need for an efficient intermodal transport system, which he said was critical to maritime trade facilitation, economic growth, and regional competitiveness in Nigeria.

The researcher also called for the liberalisation of rail freight operations, implementation of a national single window system and development of integrated logistics corridors.

“Without urgent reforms, inefficiencies will persist, and the country risks losing its position as a regional trade hub.

“A coordinated, multimodal transport framework is essential for a sustainable economic growth and trade facilitation,” Nweke said.