Indonesia’s Dec cement demand up

Indonesia’s domestic cement consumption was 20.8 per cent higher in December than a year earlier, while full-year sales rose a higher-than-expected 9.1 per cent, industry data showed on Friday.   Southeast Asia’s largest economy consumed 2.8Mt of cement in December. Demand of about 2Mt in November was just 1.7 per cent higher than November 2003.   Full-year demand rose to 30.04Mt from 27.54Mt in 2003.
Gresik, the country’s largest cement maker, sold 13.4Mt of the building material last year, up 11.9 per cent from 2003 and accounting for 44.61 per cent of Indonesia’s total annual demand.   In December alone, Gresik’s sales jumped 13.2 per cent to 1.21Mt.  

Some analysts said they had expected domestic cement sales to rise eight per cent in 2004, boosted by property projects and government infrastructure spending ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections. They said massive construction projects this year as well as the reconstruction work from the devastating tsunami disaster in the northern part of Sumatra, would increase the rate of demand.  

The Jakarta Post newspaper said on Thursday that Indonesia would offer 91 infrastructure projects worth up to $22bn to investors at a conference in Jakarta on Monday and Tuesday.