The Efficiency of River Port Logistics and its Role in Improving Inland Water Transport Operations in Egypt

Abstract

Transport via inland waterways, especially river transport, has gained geostrategic importance in recent years due to the significant economic savings and environmental sustainability it achieves. The cost of logistics in river transport is 7% of the cost of land transport and 50% of the cost of rail transport. Although river transport is the most environmentally sustainable among the various means of transport, rivers are still the least developed in many countries, including Egypt, (Rivera, et al., 2022). Effective river navigation requires maintaining the river's flow and ensuring its smoothness by carrying out dredging operations to maintain a depth that ensures safe navigation. In the river, in addition to the ease of crossing barriers, there are dams and bridges along the rivers.

River transport also suffers from several infrastructure problems, including ports and docks, a shortage of container terminals, and the lack of fueling stations along the river course because of low investment rates, in addition to the difficulty of finalizing licenses and equipment. River units are not subjected to international supervision and classification societies throughout their construction stages.