– Total cargo grew by 9.04 per cent –
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s top container port, handled 413,737 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) in November, clocking a growth of 7.61 per cent over the same month last year as the domestic economy rebounds with the easing of lockdown restrictions. The overall traffic including containers handled at JNPT during November grew 9.04 per cent to 5.70 million tons from the 5.22 million tons in November-2019. The total traffic in November includes 0.59 million tons of bulk cargo compared to 0.55 million tons in the same month last year. The average monthly terminal handling time of trains improved to 4:28 hours in November from 4:48 hours in October and 6:18 hours in September.
The average monthly turn-around time of trains (from placement to removal of trains) has reduced to 9:08 hours in November from 9:45 hours in October and 13:34 hours in September.
The newly opened Centralized Parking Plaza at JNPT handled 43,619 tractor trailers in November which carried 68,909 TEUs. “JNPT will continue to support the country’s economic growth and perform its duties to maintain the growth trajectory of the port sector. The growth in cargo handling volumes in November indicate recovery and these trends will continue into the last quarter of the present financial year,” Shri Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT said. Despite the few ups and downs, JNPT has managed to keep the operations going on the back of improvements in operational efficiency and enhancements in cargo handling capacity to enable seamless movement of trade and be the port of choice for the EXIM community, Shri Sethi said.
In November, JNPT completed the construction of a coastal berth with the capacity to handle 2.5 million tons of coastal cargo including liquid cargo, keeping with its commitment towards providing world-class amenities to stakeholders and to give momentum to coastal shipping. It will facilitate easy movement and will immensely boost coastal cargo trade, Shri Sethi added. JNPT has completed 78.63% of construction work for the widening of its road connectivity project. “JNPT is committed to the ecologically sustainable development of the greenfield Vadhavan port near Dahanu in Maharashtra and we will try our best to develop the new port by adhering to the most stringent environmental norms and regulations as laid down by the environment ministry and authorities concerned,’’ he stated.
