Productivity change in Nigerian seaports after reform: a Malmquist productivity index decomposition approach

Abstract

During the 1990s, Nigerian seaports were considered inefficient, unsafe due to massive cargo theft (wharf rat phenomenon) and one of the most expensive port systems in the world. This resulted in long turnaround times for ships and increased container dwell times. As a result, port operations were transferred to the private sector through concession contracts. This paper employs a Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) technique to benchmark pre-and post-reform total factor productivity growth of the six major Nigeria seaports (Apapa, Calabar, Onne, Port Overall productivity growth was higher in the pre-concession period compared to the postconcession period. The source of pre-concession period productivity growth was technological progress while the change in productivity of the post-concession period is generated by an increase in scale efficiency. This suggests that concessionaires have not brought in the much anticipated investment in modern technology to drive port efficiency. The ports of Calabar and Apapa experienced the highest productivity growth while lowest result was Onne.

Malmquist Indexes of Productivity Change in Tunisian Manufacturing Industries

“…A production process can be defined to be efficient if it covers the above definition. It can thus be said that technical efficiency is meant to reduce the inefficiencies that might occur in a production process [23]. Real cost savings: It is a very efficient way of defining the level of productivity change (Harberger [24]).…”

Application of a fuzzy multi-criteria decision framework for safety-critical maritime infrastructure evaluation

“…In Nigeria, seaports cluster along the coastal lines in the Southern parts of the country. In 2006, the Federal Government of Nigeria concessioned six seaports in Nigeria, because of poor performance [ 29 ]. The concessioned ports are: Tin can island Port: A 1 ; Apapa port: A 2 ; Calabar port: A 3 ; Port Harcourt: A 4 ; Warri port: A 5 ; and Onne port: A 6 – Table 1 contains information about these ports.…”

“…The concessioned ports are: Tin can island Port: A 1 ; Apapa port: A 2 ; Calabar port: A 3 ; Port Harcourt: A 4 ; Warri port: A 5 ; and Onne port: A 6 – Table 1 contains information about these ports. These ports experienced an increase in productivity [ 29 ] after their concession in 2006 ( Fig. 4 ).…”

Recent performance appraisal of six Nigerian seaports using multivariate and data envelopment analysis

“…Policy implications for Nigerian ports are derived. Nwanosike, [10] applied a Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) technique to benchmark pre-and post-reform total factor productivity growth of the six major Nigeria seaports namely Tin Can Island, Apapa, Calabar, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Warri for the periods (2000-2011) which represents six years before (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) and six years after (2006-2011) the reform. The results indicated progress in technical efficiency of the ports after reform but deterioration in technological progress.…”