HANOI, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam made total cement export and domestic sales of nearly 63.9 million tons in the first eight months of this year, gaining a year-on-year rise of 30 percent, according to the Vietnam Cement Association on Tuesday.

Specifically, the country exported roughly 20.1 million tons of cement, exceeding the annualized target of 18-19 million tons, and its domestic sales rose 3 percent to nearly 43.8 million tons.

Vietnam is likely to make domestic sales of 65-66 million tons of cement in 2018, according to the Building Material Department under the Ministry of Construction.

The country is forecast to consume 93 million tons of cement in 2020, while it currently has 83 cement production lines with total capacity of nearly 98.6 million tons per year. The combined annual production capacity may reach 113 million tons of cement by the end of this year.

Therefore, the association and cement producers in Vietnam have proposed that the government and the ministry should delay investment in building cement plants in the 2019-2025 period.?