Airtel Nigeria is set to invest over US$120 million in a new 38MW carrier-neutral hyperscale data centre in Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, to meet rising demand for cloud computing and AI infrastructure.
As reported by TechAfrica News, the facility will be part of Airtel’s broader Nxtra network and is designed to support next-gen compute workloads, including GPU-powered systems critical for AI applications.
Spanning six floors, the data centre will accommodate more than 3,000 racks, offering high power density of up to 25kW per rack. It will incorporate energy-efficient technologies aimed at achieving a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) below 1.4, and will be powered by multiple substations for enhanced redundancy.
Its strategic location in Eko Atlantic City places it close to subsea cable landing stations and dense fibre routes, ensuring low-latency connectivity and robust network infrastructure.
Airtel Nigeria CEO Dinesh Balsingh confirmed during a media briefing in Lagos that the project is expected to be completed by Q1 2026.
Eko Atlantic City – also known as Nigeria International Commerce City – is being developed on reclaimed land adjacent to Victoria Island, intended to ease Lagos’ real estate constraints and attract global investment. It already hosts major corporate tenants such as First Bank of Nigeria, Dangote Group, and MTN Nigeria, which is relocating its national headquarters to the area.
Airtel’s announcement follows MTN Nigeria’s recent launch of the first phase of its own US$235 million data centre project in Lagos, as part of a broader push to compete with global cloud giants like AWS, Microsoft, and Google.
