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espite a slump in construction contracts and property sales in 2014, developer and construction holding company Surya Semesta Internusa is upbeat about booking a better performance this year on the back of an improving industry.

Surya Semesta Internusa revealed on Wednesday the company had seen new contracts in the construction business slump by about 31 percent, from Rp 4.61 trillion (US$365.43 million) in 2013 to around Rp 3.2 trillion last year.

'€œThe lower number of new contracts was mostly due to the slowing of Indonesia'€™s economy in 2014 and, in part, because of the election, which impacted the construction industry,'€ according to an official statement published on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

The company, which runs a construction business through its publicly listed subsidiary Nusa Raya Cipta, said it missed its target of securing Rp 3.7 trillion last year.

The missed target was in line with last year'€™s industrial slowdown and most of the country'€™s construction firms recorded poor results because of investment uncertainty during the election year, which led to a number of project holdups nationwide.

Among the projects posted in the company'€™s order book last year was the Cikampek-Palimanan toll road in West Java, a flagship infrastructure project that cashed in Rp 1.1 trillion in contracts for the company.

The toll road should be in operation before this year'€™s Islamic Idul Fitri holiday, which will fall in July. Currently, progress is at around 85 percent completion.

The number of vehicles using this route increases sharply during the Islamic holiday as people make the annual exodus to their hometowns.

Nusa Raya Cipta expects to record nearly 30 percent growth, to Rp 4.1 trillion, in new contracts this year, including projects from Surya Semesta.

'€œWe are confident of this target as the construction industry appears to be consistent in its upward trend alongside the growth of Indonesia'€™s GDP [gross domestic product],'€ the statement read.

Meanwhile, Surya Semesta'€™s property business also contracted last year, with marketing sales slumping 41 percent to around 22.8 hectares in 2014.

The lackluster sales, the statement said, were because of a shortage of saleable land and problems arising from land claims.

'€œHowever, in late 2014, the land claim problems were cleared and consequently we are targeting marketing sales of 60 hectares in anticipation of an increase in demand for industrial properties,'€ the statement continued.

In September, Surya Semesta obtained a location permit for a 2,000 ha plot of land in Subang, West Java. At the end of December, the company had freed up and acquired around 100 ha of the land, targeting a total of 500 ha by the of this year.

Surya Semesta is planning to launch four Batiqa business hotels this year in Cirebon and Bekasi (West Java), Palembang (South Sumatra) and Pekanbaru (Riau).

The company'€™s revenue fell around 3 percent from Rp 3.35 trillion during the first nine months of 2013, to Rp 3.25 trillion in the same period last year due to contracting business.

Net profits slumped around 53 percent to Rp 227.75 billion.