Title: Nigerian Blue Economy and Maximizing Potentials of Inland Water Transport (IWT): Insights from Indonesia and India
Authors: Arinze Egwuatu and Paul C. Ezinna. Ph.D
Volume: 10
Issue: 8
Pages: 216-223
Publication Date: 2026/08/28
Abstract:
Nigeria's blue economy represents a vast and largely untapped frontier of national development, with inland water transport (IWT) emerging as a critical but persistently underutilized component of the country's maritime sector. With over 10,000 kilometres of waterways and a blue economy potential valued at approximately US$296 billion, Nigeria possesses the natural endowments necessary to transform its inland waterway network into a powerful engine of economic diversification, freight logistics, food security, and employment generation. However, decades of inadequate dredging, deteriorating river-port infrastructure, weak regulatory enforcement, and persistent safety deficits have undermined the sector's productive capacity, limiting navigable routes to between 3,000 and 4,000 kilometres of the available network. The study examined the Nigerian blue economy with a focus on maximizing the potentials of inland water transport, drawing insights from Bangladesh and India as example for best practices in inland waterway development within blue economy framework. Descriptive analytical approach and thematic analysis were adopted for the study while the Blue Economy Sustainability Framework and the Transport System Theory served as the theoretical frameworks. The study revealed that unlocking Nigeria's inland water transport potential requires sustained investment in dredging operations, modern fleet development, navigational infrastructure, safety regulation, and integrated multimodal logistics planning within a coherent national blue economy policy architecture.