- The Nigerian government intends to open a cutting-edge data centre capable of storing up to 1.4 petabytes of data before May 29, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu completes one year in office.
- Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of the Interior, disclosed this during a meeting with a delegation from the National Union of Nigerian Associations in Italy (NUNAI), led by its President, Chief Rowland Ndukuba.
- Furthermore, the data centre will house critical national information, such as citizens’ biometric data.
The Minister emphasised the importance of embracing technology and innovation, citing the role of novel cutting-edge technological solutions in addressing modern challenges. He added that these solutions would improve efficiency and accountability across all national operations.
The NUNAI President also appreciated the Ministry’s efforts in addressing the challenges faced by Nigerians in Italy, encouraging more collaborative efforts to assist stranded Nigerians in Italy.
As of 2023, Nigeria had over 11 data centres, most in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano. These include the Open Access Data Centre (OADC), Rack Centre, MDXi, Medallion (Digital Reality), 21st Century; ADC, MTN, CEWA, Galaxy BackBone, and mobile. This space has received more than $230 million in investment, and the market is expected to grow to $415 million by 2028.
In 2022, Airtel Africa opened a commercial state-of-the-art Tier 3 data centre in Lagos to house servers for the country’s businesses and government establishments. It also launched Nxtra, a data centre business, the following year.
In other news, the Republic of the Congo has begun building a $72.8 million data centre to house the national data centre designed to store and process the digital data of the nation.
However, because data centres are expensive, the release from Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior did not specify how the project will be funded or how much money will be required to complete it in less than 8 days.
Nonetheless, if the project is completed, Nigeria, which is currently trailing South Africa in the African Data Centre race, could benefit. Teraco, a South African data centre operator, reportedly has more operational capacity than Nigeria’s 11 data centres. In 2023, it raised $680 million in funding as growth capital to expand the company’s solar capacity and data centres.
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techpoint.africa