Cement sales in Indonesia rose three per cent YoY to 4.45Mt in February 2016 from the same month one year earlier.

Widodo Santoso, chairman of the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI), attributed the country's rising cement sales to the ongoing development of infrastructure projects across the archipelago.

Three regions showed a marked increase in cement sales last month: Sumatra (+16.5 per cent YoY to 2.13Mt), Sulawesi (+33 per cent YoY to 841,000t) and the Moluccas & Papua (+31 per cent YoY to 125,000t).

Besides government-led infrastructure projects (such as the one million housing programme and infrastructure development in the villages), last month's cement demand in Indonesia was also supported by projects developed by the private sector. These projects include power stations and smelters (in line with the 2009 Mining Law).

However, compared to January 2016, Indonesia's cement sales fell 13 per cent last month. Santoso explained that this decline was caused by fewer working days in February, while the higher rainfall resulted in slower progress of infrastructure projects.