Pan-Africa data center firm Open Access Data Centres (OADC) is set to spend $240 million on a 24MW data center in Nigeria’s capital, Lagos.
Though the company has yet to officially announce the development, its CEO Dr. Ayotunde Coker told local reporters at an event last week that the project would be built in two stages, with the first 12MW set to come online in the next 18 months.
In comments reported by Leadership, Coker said: “This project is a game-changer for Nigeria’s digital economy. With hyperscale capacity and AI-readiness, our Lagos facility will be one of the largest and most advanced in West Africa.
“It will set new benchmarks for scalability, resilience, and efficiency, ensuring that Nigeria remains at the forefront of Africa’s data center revolution.”
According to the report, the data center will be funded through a mix of equity and debt, with OADC working with financial institutions such as the International Finance Corporation and Proparco. The company is also said to have secured a sustainability-linked loan.
It will draw power from Nigeria’s grid, though the company is said to also be looking at other options such as natural gas and renewable energy sources.
“Renewable energy integration is also a key focus,” said Coker. “While on-site solar generation is limited due to space constraints, OADC is evaluating power wheeling options to source hydroelectric and solar power from external locations.”
DCD has approached OADC for more details of the plan.
Owned by African wholesale network firm WIOCC, OADC operates six hyperscale data centers and more than 30 Edge sites in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. Its flagship data center, in the Lekki area of Lagos, opened in 2022.
