Abstract

The inland water transport (IWT) system is known to be an economic, fuel efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation in most countries, irrespective of their level of development. In other words, IWT is recognized as energy efficient, with lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions and large freight capacity when compared to other modes. In addition to sustainable transportation functions of the IWT, it can contribute in many other ways to socioeconomic development of areas where they are used as a mode of transportation. This study assessed contributions of IWT system to socio-economic development of North Central Nigeria.It was a cross-sectional survey research, and data was collected through questionnaires, oral interview and field observations. A total of 473 questionnaires were distributed (392 to users, and 81 to the operators) while 465 were returned. Data analysis methods used were Descriptive Statistics and Inferential Statistics. Descriptive Analysis performed on the data from the respondents revealed that 78% strongly agree that IWT contributes significantly to socioeconomic development of the study area through job creation, trade facilitation and revenue generation. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was used to determine the impacts of IWT on the socio-economic development of the study area and the result shows R² = .72 which indicates that 72% of the variance in socio-economic development variables can be explained by IWT factors. These results show that any targeted improvement in IWT system will translate into significant improvement in social, economic and environmental sustainability in the study area.

Copyright of the paper named above is hereby assigned and transferred to the Nigerian Journal of Applied Science and Innovative Technology published by College of Engineering, Bells University of Technology, Nigeria.