Inland Container

Continental J. Sustainable Development 3 (1): 30 - 38, 2012 ISSN: 2251 – 0486 © Wilolud Journals, 2012 http://www.wiloludjournal.com Printed in Nigeria doi:10.5707/cjsd.2012.3.1.30.38 A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING INLAND CONTAINER DEPORTS (ICD) PERFORMANCE/PRODUCTIVITY IN NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENT Obed B.C. Ndikom and G.C Emeghara Department of Maritime Management Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri ABSTRACT This paper reviews the nature, characteristics, structural operations, operational modalities and strategies for improving Inland Container Deports performance/productivity within the confines of the Nigerian Maritime Environment. Inland Container Deport is a place where containers/cargo is aggregated for onward movement to and from the ports. It is a also a common-user facility with a public authority status, equipped with fixed installations and offering services for handling and temporary storage of import/export laden and empty containers carried under customs control. The paper will examine strategies that will improve operational performance/productivity of ICD’s in the context of Nigerian Maritime Industry. ICD’s originally is meant to decongest the port ab initio but the concept over the years has been truncated due to the Government Policy inconsistencies. Therefore, effort shall be made in this paper to explore ways and synthesized strategies of improving Inland Container Deports (ICD) performance/productivity in a Nigerian Maritime Environment. KEYWORDS: Improving Inland Container Deports (ICD), operational performance/productivity, Nigerian Maritime Environment, handling and storage. INTRODUCTION The word ‘inland’ means in or relating to the part of a country that is not near the coast, port city or a border’, while a container means a large medal box of standard size into which goods are packed so that they can be transported securely and efficiently from departure point to destination by road, sea, or rail,

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