Airtel Nigeria is set to build a carrier-neutral 38MW hyperscale data centre in Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, to meet rising demand for cloud and AI services. The facility will be part of Airtel’s Nxtra network and designed to support next-generation compute workloads, including GPU-powered infrastructure essential for AI applications.
According to TechAfrica News, the data centre will span six floors with over 3,000 racks, offering high power density of up to 25kW per rack. It will incorporate energy-efficient systems targeting a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.4 and feature redundant power from multiple substations. The location provides proximity to subsea cable landing stations and dense fibre routes, ensuring robust connectivity.
Airtel Nigeria CEO Dinesh Balsingh revealed the project will cost over $120 million and aims for completion in the first quarter of 2026.
Eko Atlantic City, also known as Nigeria International Commerce City, is a reclaimed land development adjacent to Victoria Island. It addresses Lagos’ real estate shortage while creating new business opportunities and serving as a gateway to other African markets. Major tenants such as First Bank of Nigeria, Dangote Group, and MTN Nigeria have already established presences there.
Airtel’s announcement follows MTN Nigeria’s recent launch of a $235 million data centre in Lagos and cloud services competing with global giants like AWS, Microsoft, and Google. Additionally, Open Access Data Centres plans to expand its Lagos facility capacity from 1.5MW to 24MW by 2027 with a $240 million investment.
