Forgotten waterways? Investments and strategies in inland river and maritime transport

The analysis of investments in navigable waterways in the period between 2019 and 2023 reveals anextremely fragmented reality, in which only a few countries stand out for the scale and continuity ofspending, while most countries, including many OECD members, show missing data, negligiblelevels of investment, or policy choices that are not strongly oriented toward the development of inlandriver and maritime transport. Although waterways represent a sustainable, economical, and lowenvironmental-impact mode of transport, they often seem to be excluded from central infrastructurestrategies, with the exception of some European states with a well-established river or port logisticstradition.