Indonesia's domestic cement sales rose 13 percent year-on-year in August, reflecting spiking demand for infrastructure and housing construction, data from Indonesia Cement Association showed on Thursday.
Sales rose to 5.3 million metric tons of cement last month, from 4.7 million in the same period last year. Sales had been on the decline several months prior due to weak demand from the construction sector.
"The increase indicates that construction of infrastructure, housing and apartment is moving ahead, with the government starting to disburse their budget for the project," said Widodo Santoso, chairman of the cement association (ASI).
January-August sales reached 37 million tons, relatively the same as in 2014.
Widodo hoped cement sales will accelerate in the remaining months of this year, in line with the government's policy to disburse its infrastructure budget, boosting demand in Sulawesi, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara and Java.
The sale of cement is an indicator for household demand, which accounts for more than half of Indonesia's economy.
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