For the first ten months of this year, Thai cement consumption expanded 13.9 per cent from the same period as last year.

Cement sales for the rest of this year are expected to expand at double digit growth, resulting in this year’s growth of at least 12 per cent compared with the industry’s forecast of 8-10 per cent. Strong domestic cement consumption will be positive to cement producers. 

The country’s construction expenditures dropped by half to only Bt418bn in 2000 from Bt911bn in 1996. However, construction expenditures have shown signs of recovery since 2001 and improved to Bt501bn in 2003, or about a 20 per cent increase from 2001’s figure. The country’s construction expenditure is expected to increase significantly in the coming years mainly from the government’s public infrastructure projects.