Airtel Nigeria is building a large-scale data centre in Eko Atlantic, Lagos. The facility will support artificial intelligence systems, cloud storage, and business data processing. It will have a power capacity of 38 megawatts. The project will cost 120 million dollars.
Designed for Artificial Intelligence
The new data centre will meet growing demand for high-powered computing in Nigeria. It will run large AI models and handle heavy data loads. The project supports Nigeria’s plan to grow its tech industry. The government’s AI strategy, released in 2024, called for stronger local infrastructure. Airtel is responding by building a centre that can manage AI tools and services inside the country.
What the Data Centre Will Include
The centre will hold over 3,000 server racks. Each rack can support up to 25 kilowatts of power. The total building size will be about 300,000 square feet. It will include cooling systems and backup power.
The company aims for an energy efficiency score, called Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), of 1.3. This means it will use less energy compared to older data centres.
The servers will include GPUs. These are special processors used to train and run artificial intelligence models.
Jobs and Timeline
Airtel expects the centre to open in early 2026. During construction, the project will create over 1,000 jobs. When the centre opens, it will support at least 250 permanent roles. These jobs will include data centre operations, cybersecurity, and hardware maintenance.
Location and Benefits
Eko Atlantic is a secure and well-connected location in Lagos. It has stable power and direct links to undersea internet cables. This makes it a strong choice for a data facility.
The centre will serve many types of users. These include tech companies, financial institutions, health organisations, government agencies, and global cloud firms.
Local startups will also benefit. Many small companies need access to advanced computing but cannot afford to build their own systems. Airtel’s centre will allow them to run AI tools and store data inside Nigeria.
Airtel and the Local Tech Industry
This is not the only data centre in Nigeria. MTN launched its own Tier 3 data centre recently. MTN’s site has a starting capacity of 4.5 megawatts. Airtel’s new facility will be much larger. It focuses on AI computing, while MTN targets cloud storage.
The competition between the two firms may lead to faster growth in Nigeria’s tech space. It may also lower the cost of cloud and data services over time.
A Step Toward Local Innovation
Africa’s AI market is growing. Experts say it could reach 16 billion dollars by 2030. Nigeria will need data centres like this to support the tools and services that depend on AI.
By building this centre, Airtel is helping the country keep data local, reduce internet delays, and increase security. The centre will also help prepare Nigeria for future tech developments.
Airtel Nigeria is investing in a 38-megawatt data centre in Lagos. The centre will support artificial intelligence, cloud services, and digital business tools. It is due to open in early 2026. The project reflects Nigeria’s growing need for strong digital infrastructure.
and then