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Dangote Cement, Africa’s leading cement producer, has raised its cement prices by N600 to offset rising costs associated with reduced gas supplies and the naira devaluation, according to a statement on Wednesday.

The company said that although cement sales grew by 15 percent in July and August, disruptions to gas supply has forced the Group to rely more on alternative fuels such as low pour fuel oils (LPFO) and coal, which are three times more expensive.

“We have previously indicated that we would increase the price of cement to offset increase in costs caused by devaluation and other cost factors,” the company said in a statement. “The present situation has regrettably forced us to increase the ex-factory price of cement by N600, bringing the price back to levels only marginally above what they were before we announced a price decrease in September last year.”

In order to reduce its dependence on gas supplies, Dangote Cement said it has accelerated the installation of coal mills and coal mining initiatives in Nigeria, with plans to begin coal mining by November.

“Most of our production lines are now capable of running entirely on coal and drive towards self-sufficiency will almost eliminate our dependence on gas supplies, imported coal, and more significantly, LFPO,” the company said.

Dangote Cement said its own-mined coal will be cheaper than gas, which is priced in dollars but paid in naira. Furthermore, coal, which being transacted entirely in naira, will reduce the company’s need for FX amidst Nigeria’s current FX challenges.

“Our coal mining initiative will benefit both the company and the Nigerian economy by reducing the need for foreign exchange and helping us to both protect existing jobs and create new ones,” said Onne van der Weijde, Dangote Cement’s CEO. “Although we have indicated a more measured approach to our expansion across Africa, we have new operations opening soon in Congo and Sierra Leone and these will strengthen the company’s profitability and generate additional foreign currency earnings.”

With nearly 44 metric tonnes per annum capacity, Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer. In six months ended on June 30th, the company reported that revenues rose 20.6 percent year-on-year to N292.2 billion while after-tax profit fell 15.1 percent to N103.4 billion.