China's construction material sector reported a double-digit growth in added value in the first five months thanks to fast fixed-assets investment growth, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The added value was up 13.6 percent in Jan.-May period and expanded 16 percent in May, 2.2 percentage points higher than the previous month.

Cement output hit a new monthly record of 150 million tonnes in May, up 13.5 percent year on year. It topped 570 million tonnes in the first five months, up 13.3 percent year on year.

Prices of construction materials expanded 1.76 percent in May year on year and cement price was 283 yuan (41.43 U.S. dollars) per tonne in May, up 0.56 yuan from April.

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2009)