Abstract
The paper studied 5 transport corridors in West Africa, from the ports of Abidjan, Cotonou, Lagos, Lomé, and Tema, to the landlocked countries (LLCs) of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The study found 15 transport routes available from these ports to the LLCs. It used two modes of transport with their respective transport costs as variables influencing shippers in their choice of corridor route. In regards to the modes of transport, the study chose the unimodal road transport and the intermodal transport as the combination of the rail and road transport, with a projection of the cargo volume demand in 2023 from the LLCs. In addition, a survey conducted on the Togolese corridor with the aim to find from users’ perspective the adequate intermodal terminal location, identified the city of Mango as an ideal host. As for the transport cost analysis attached to each of the modes of transport, the results of this study revealed that in the case of the unimodal road transport, shippers from Burkina Faso would rather choose Tema port in Ghana as optimal route, while shippers from Mali would rather choose Abidjan port in Ivory Coast, and shippers from Niger would choose Cotonou in Benin as the optimal route. Consequently, the study also found that the added parameter of the intermodal terminal of Mango on the Togolese corridor would change the routing habit of the LLCs shippers. In fact, with this parameter in line, the Togolese corridor would be optimal in terms of transport cost minimization for the Niger and Burkina Faso shippers. Based on these findings the study highlights the benefits of the intermodality which it presents to the policymakers.
Highlights
In recent years, a number of reports have noted that inefficient transport supply chain of cargo and high logistics costs in Central and West Africa have negative effects on trade
In regard to the introduction of an intermodal transport system along the Lomé corridor route, 55% of the respondents opposed the idea with the majority 53% of the truckers, who argued that such transport modes would increase the rate of unemployment in the transport industry
42% of respondents welcomed the idea of an intermodal transport system; of that 22% of the truckers and 20% of freight forwarders who stated that this would lead to transit time saving, security improvements, avoidance of the Alédjo-Mountains, transport cost reduction, and the reduction of road accidents
Summary
A number of reports have noted that inefficient transport supply chain of cargo and high logistics costs in Central and West Africa have negative effects on trade. These are hindering growth and poverty reduction in these regions more so than in most other parts of the developing world (Arvis J.-F., et al, 2010) [1]. The transport corridors of coastal countries endowed with port facilities play a key role in the development of Landlocked Countries (LLCs) These transport corridors are critical economic links between community groups of same or other geographical regions.
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