Inland River Transport, the Forgotten Treasure in Iraq

Abstract

Land transport acquired the full freight transport activity and became the only controller for internal transport in Iraq, as the number of trailers increased, the number of road accidents increased, the road was broken, environmental pollution increased and the traffic and energy crisis became a daily headache for the government, so the solution is get back to dependence on the river transport to rise up the burden on other modes of transport and on the public budget.

Inland water transport (IWT) is an efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport. However, this feature has been steadily eroded by the striking neglect of this sector in Iraq and without the initiative to take specific procedures, the traditional methods will lead to the future deterioration.

The general objective of this study is to determine concrete economic feasibility in the field of inland river transport in Iraq, and the ability to collect reliable, independent and accredited information by international organizations about the application of green technologies to exploit this sector with limited capabilities, costs and to fill existing gaps. Because of the legislation related to this sector, which is not commensurate with its importance, the research highlighted the main areas that we need in developing this sector, where the main challenge is to green the inland river transport and provide scientific evidence that supports technological development and encourages fleet owners to adopt it. This study also identified three pillars that we need to developing and supporting IWT capabilities, namely research capacity, research and development, and information and communication. The paper also dealt with the main factors that help in adopting IWT in addition to its benefits and disadvantages.