Airtel Commits to Boosting Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A leading telecommunications firm, Airtel Nigeria, has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure and data access to bridge gaps in connectivity and unlock new opportunities in the country.

The company gave this reassurance during a recent inspection tour of its ongoing Nxtra Data Centre at Eko Atlantic, Lagos.

The data centre is being established to deliver hyperscale and edge facilities across key African markets. With a load of 38 Megawatts, the Lagos facility is expected to serve as a major hub for data hosting, cloud services, content distribution, artificial intelligence, and enterprise solutions in West Africa.

“This Nxtra Data Centre in Lagos represents a critical part of our long-term vision for Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. Today’s visit allows us to review progress, engage our stakeholders, and ensure that our infrastructure investments continue to meet global standards and local needs.

“This data centre will deliver critical high multi megawatt capacity in line with hyperscale customers and enable high density environment. We are putting the infra to bring the cloud to Nigeria,” the chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Yashnath Issur, said.

Also commenting, the chief executive of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, said, “Since the announcement of this project, our focus has been on building a world-class facility that supports Africa’s digital transformation agenda.

“We are encouraged by the progress recorded so far and remain committed to delivering a secure, energy-efficient, and future-ready data centre for Nigeria,” reiterating that the data centre is progressing steadily towards the previously announced 2028 go live date.

On his part, the chairman of Eko Atlantic, Mr Gabbi Massoud, disclosed that, “Eko Atlantic as a city with high quality infrastructure will contribute positively to boost the economy of Nigeria and is a perfect place for the development of the digital infrastructure of Nigeria.

“The Nxtra data centre reflects the calibre of projects we seek to attract — long-term, technology-driven investments built to the highest global standards.

“Today’s visit affirms the rigour of the planning and execution process by Nxtra, and the commitment of Eko Atlantic to facilitate and promote the Nigeria’s evolving digital ecosystem.”