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Telecom Giant Scores Strategic Infrastructure Touchdown with Hyperscale Lagos Facility Targeting Digital Transformation.
Airtel Nigeria is building a huge (38-megawatt) hyperscale data center at Eko Atlantic, Lagos, as part of a strategic plan to provide a foothold into the cloud computing AI markets of Nigeria. This massive infrastructure project will change the game for cloud computing, according to Airtel Nigeria's CEO, Dinesh Balsingh, and NXTRA by Airtel Africa's Yashnath Issur, who is heading the project. "This project will allow us to put the overall infrastructure in place to bring the cloud to Nigeria," stated Issur.
The new facility is much more than a technological development; it is an overall digital transformation of Nigeria. It is designed to accommodate high-density environments with a focus on cloud service providers, content platforms, and emerging technologies. The new facility will also provide Nigeria with the ability to substantially reduce its reliance on offshore (external) data centers for hosting their online content and provide a degree of protection for their respective data from outside sources.
Additionally, the facility's strategic location will allow it to take advantage of existing (undersea) fiber cable and fiber optic networks, thereby minimizing latency and maximizing reliability for the services provided. Therefore, the new facility and infrastructure are akin to precision offensive maneuvers in the "digital arena.” “The data center has already passed through stringent design approval and construction approval for Eko Atlantic's construction requirements.
According to Balsingh, the team will continue to advance toward their goal of having an operational site by 2028, providing a safe and efficient facility for Africa's digital transformation agenda. The new project is a direct result of growing demand in Nigeria for data to be stored locally due to a large increase in digital services, digitalizing businesses, and the growth of the financial technology sector. In conjunction with a group of stakeholders on a high-level inspection tour, various critical sections of the site were reviewed.
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