Covid-19 effect: JNPT traffic declines 26% in Apr-July, sees recovery ahead

The port reported a 19 per cent spike in overall traffic to 4.85 million tonnes in July over June, with container traffic rising to 3,44,316 twenty-foot equivalent units

The coronavirus pandemic outbreak negatively impacted overall traffic at the country's largest container port JNPT by 26 per cent year-on-year in April-July, but it expects an improvement going forward, a top official has said.

The pandemic, which brought all economic activities to a near-halt for almost two months, has also forced the port to extend timeline for certain projects by three months, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Chairman Sanjay Sethi told PTI.

"The overall traffic at JNPT declined 26 per cent between March-July. So, the Covid impact has been 26 per cent year-on-year. Within that, the silver lining is that in