Indian cement maker ACC in its annual report for 2017, stated that cement demand in India is expected to grow by 7% this year but intense competition and "not enough" consumption may lead to excess capacity.

"Intense competition and not enough demand pull, will continue to lead to excess capacity in 2018," ACC Cement said adding "this situation is expected to correct itself in 2019 with the increased outlays on housing, infrastructure development and agri-sector initiatives."

The cement industry had a growth of 6% in 2017 as against 5.1% in the previous year, said the report. Around 66% of its demand came from the housing sector, followed by infra with 18% and 16% by commercial sectors.

The total installed capacity of the cement industry in India is around 465 million tonnes (MT), ACC said. However, the industry is under-utilizing the installed capacity as it is currently producing 305 MT for both domestic demand and export requirement.

ACC in its annual report also said, "Consequently, the demand for cement in 2018 is expected to increase from 6% to 7%." The demand will grow in 2018, helped by the Centre's push on big infrastructure projects and continued focus on rural development and affordable housing schemes, it added.