Airtel investing over $120 million to build data centre in Nigeria, says CEO

Airtel Nigeria says it is investing more than $120 million in building a data centre with a capacity of 38 megawatts.

On May 8, Airtel Nigeria said it is doubling its capital investment to boost digital inclusion, expand rural connectivity, and deliver enhanced service quality to Nigerians.

Highlighting its investment strategy, the company said it has accelerated the rollout of 5G technology across its sites nationwide, installed high-capacity radios, and built extensive fibre infrastructure.

Airtel added that it is building a new, state-of-the-art data centre to support its growing customer base and enhance data management capabilities.

Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Dinesh Balsingh, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), said the facility will be designed to handle large-scale operations.

“We are investing over $120 million. That is the kind of investment that is going on in our data centre,” Balsingh said.

He said while cloud storage will be part of the offering, the main driver for such a high-capacity facility is AI.

“When you’re building massive capacity, you can always allocate something for cloud storage. But data centres are actually for artificial intelligence,” he said.

Balsingh did not give a specific completion date but said the facility will be launched next year.

The announcement comes weeks after MTN Nigeria unveiled its own data centre, said to be the largest prefabricated commercial facility in West Africa, with an estimated investment of $255 million.

‘5G PENETRATION LOW IN NIGERIA DUE TO DEVICE COSTS’

Balsingh also addressed Nigeria’s low 5G adoption, attributing it to the limited availability and high cost of devices.

He said Airtel expects 5G coverage to expand rapidly in the coming months, particularly in major cities, but stressed that consumer access to affordable devices remains critical.

“Over the next few months, you will see 5G network rolling out much more rapidly,” the Airtel boss said.

“Getting devices into the market and ensuring that consumers have 5G devices is one very important aspect. Because network is available and rolling out network is something that we can even do further.”

Balsingh said Airtel is in talks with device manufacturers to explore ways of reducing costs, including redesigning components and forming partnerships to make 5G devices more accessible.