The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) says Nigeria’s maritime barging and logistics sector could generate over N1 trillion if fully harnessed and efficiently utilised for economic growth nationwide.
Mr Eugene Nweke, Head of Research at the centre, disclosed this during a news conference on Monday in Abuja while presenting findings from its maiden survey on barge operations nationwide.
Nweke said that maritime barging and logistics remained largely untapped in Nigeria, in spite of its strong potential to improve efficiency, reduce transport costs, and enhance cargo movement across inland waterways and coastal corridors.
He said that limited infrastructure, regulatory bottlenecks, and low private sector participation had continued to hinder growth of barging as a viable alternative to road transportation across the country’s logistics ecosystem.
According to him, empirical estimates show that the sector currently operates at about 30 per cent capacity, with annual cargo ranging between 80 million and 120 million tonnes nationwide.
“The economic value of barge operations is estimated between N500 billion and N1 trillion annually, underscoring its significance in improving trade efficiency.
“Barging remains Nigeria’s most efficient logistics alternative, yet it is treated as a secondary option rather than a central component of national transport planning.
“What we are witnessing is not a lack of potential, but a lack of structured policy execution to unlock that potential at scale,” he said.
Nweke noted that optimising barge operations could reduce port congestion by 30 per cent to 40 per cent, while cutting cargo evacuation costs by 20 per cent to 35 per cent nationwide.
He added that improved utilisation of inland waterways could also save Nigeria roads over N200 billion annually in maintenance costs caused by heavy-duty cargo transportation pressures.
He said that barging represents Nigeria’s fastest, cheapest and most scalable logistics solution, but had continued to suffer neglect due to weak policy prioritisation and implementation gaps across institutions.
Nweke noted that the creation of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy signaled a policy intent which must be translated into measurable outcomes that impact economic performance and sectoral productivity nationwide.
He projected that effective implementation of blue economy policies could generate between N3 trillion and N5 trillion annually within five to seven years across maritime value chains.
The expert added that the sector also holds potential to create between two million and three million direct and indirect jobs nationwide through expanded maritime and logistics activities.
“The blue economy cannot remain a policy document; it must become an active economic engine driving jobs, revenue and industrial growth.
“The blue economy can contribute about 15 per cent to 20 per cent to Nigeria’s non-oil Gross Domestic Product if properly harnessed and implemented across sectors,” he said.
Nweke identified absence of financial modelling in maritime planning as a major policy failure limiting sectoral growth, investment efficiency, and coordinated development across relevant institutions and agencies nationwide.
He also cited weak prioritisation of inland waterways and barge systems as a critical gap affecting logistics optimisation, trade competitiveness, and overall efficiency within Nigeria’s maritime transport framework.
“Without data-driven planning and financial accountability, maritime investments will continue to underperform and fail to deliver expected economic returns.
“Lack of coordinated execution frameworks for maritime policies has resulted in fragmented implementation and limited impact on economic performance and long-term sectoral development nationwide.
“Nigeria’s continued reliance on Lagos-centric port operations has worsened congestion, increased inefficiencies, and limited growth opportunities for other port corridors across the country’s maritime system,” he said.
Nweke decried the slow adoption of automation and digital systems in port operations, saying it contributes significantly to delays, high logistics costs, and persistent revenue leakages nationwide.
To address these challenges, he recommended establishment of a maritime economic intelligence framework to track sector contributions and guide data-driven policy decisions across Nigeria’s maritime industry.
He said the framework should include annual maritime GDP tracking, real-time monitoring of trade costs, and mandatory return-on-investment analysis for all maritime projects nationwide.
Nweke also proposed the creation of a N500 billion National Barge Development Fund to support fleet expansion, terminal infrastructure, and regulatory reforms through structured public-private partnerships.
He said the initiative should target achieving at least 50 per cent cargo evacuation through inland waterways within five years to ease pressure on road networks nationwide.
“If Nigeria commits to inland waterway transport, we can cut logistics costs drastically and decongest our ports within a short period,” he said.
The expert further recommended deploying the National Marine and Blue Economy Policy as a rolling investment plan linked directly to annual budgets and measurable performance indicators nationwide.
He said key targets should include reducing cargo dwell time to seven days, lowering logistics costs by 30 per cent, and improving port efficiency by 40 per cent nationwide.
Nweke called for decentralisation of port infrastructure through development of eastern and western corridors to reduce Lagos port dependency to less than 40 per cent over time.
He also advocated full automation of port operations to eliminate at least 80 per cent human interface and ensure seamless digital trade processing systems across Nigeria’s ports.
The expert emphasised the need for institutional coordination through the establishment of a National Maritime Coordination Council to align agencies under a unified execution framework nationwide.
He warned that Nigeria is currently incurring multi-trillion-naira annual losses due to inefficiencies, policy gaps, and delayed reforms within the maritime logistics and transport sector.
He said SEREC estimates indicate an annual revenue leakage of between N1.2 trillion and N1.8 trillion, alongside logistics inefficiencies costing up to 30 per cent of cargo value nationwide.
Nweke added that port-related delays alone cost the country between 7 billion and 10 billion dollars annually, further weakening trade competitiveness and economic growth prospects.
“Nigeria is not just underperforming in maritime logistics; it is paying heavily for inefficiency and delayed reforms.
“Nigeria must transition from fragmented approaches to a data-driven, investment-aligned and execution-focused maritime economy to unlock its full potential nationwide.
“The future of Nigeria’s maritime sector must be measured in numbers, not narratives,” he said.
