Airtel Nigeria, a leading telecommunications service provider, is set to build one of Africa’s largest data centres in Nigeria.
Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya revealed this during his courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja last Wednesday. He lauded the president’s policy reforms which, according to him, have worked very well.
According to Ogunsanya, he was at the Villa to thank the President and hold some private discussions with him. He noted that efforts at stabilising the foreign exchange regime have positively reflected on the company’s operations. He, however, said the foreign exchange crisis had not been completely tackled, but hoped there was light at the end of the tunnel.
In his words, “I came to share my appreciation with Mr. President for a very conducive environment for our business. If you recollect, about six or seven months ago, I came to see him to discuss the operational environment for our business, and a few things were changed. They’ve worked very well for us.
“We had massive issues with FX liquidity, we still have some issues, but at least slightly more predictable than it was a couple of months ago. It makes it easier for us to do better planning. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel. We can do better planning.”
On the proposed mega data centre, which he said had been cited in Nigeria to serve big businesses and some multinationals, Ogunsanya said it would be one of the largest in Africa, adding that the land had been procured and that groundbreaking should be in a matter of weeks.
He added: “We’re always expanding our business; we’re always investing in the country. We’re going to set up a new data centre in the country. We’ve already bought the land, we’ll be breaking ground very soon, and it’s going to be one of the largest data centres in Africa.
“It will serve all the big multinationals in the country, and some foreign companies. It’s one of the largest in Africa.”
