The Government will release granite from the national stockpile from Feb 5 to help ease a temporary shortage, said the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Main contractors who have ongoing projects with concreting work will be able to get some relief.

The temporary shortage of granite stems from Indonesia, as it stopped shipping granite aggregate to Singapore since Jan 10.

This happened around the same time as a government ban on global mineral exports on Jan 12.

Indonesia is a major supplier of granite aggregate to Singapore, and the material is an important component of ready-mixed concrete.

It is understood that the regulations issued by the Indonesian government say that exports of raw or unprocessed granite out of Indonesia are not allowed. Only granite that has been shaped, cut or processed can be exported.

There is also no specific ban on shipping granite to Singapore.

Many projects are getting the supply from other sources, said the BCA, which is helping importers and the industry to increase supply from those sources.

The BCA also urges the industry to continue to look for alternative sources of granite and diversify.