Current Operations and Expansion Plans
Located in Lekki, Lagos, the OADC facility serves as the landing station for Google’s Equiano subsea cable in Nigeria. Currently, the data centre operates at about 1.5MW of its planned capacity, which became operational two months ago. The expansion will be carried out in phases, with the goal of establishing the facility as a major data hub for West Africa.
Ayotunde Coker, CEO of OADC, highlighted the scale of the investment during a press conference in Lagos, stating, “One megawatt capacity of a data centre costs about $10 million. We are building 24 megawatts, which is about $240 million—a huge investment.”
Sustainability-Linked Financing
The project will be supported by international finance partners, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement Group. The financing is structured as sustainability-linked debt, with pricing tied to WIOCC’s commitment to improving energy efficiency and obtaining EDGE green building certification for its data centres.
Coker emphasized the importance of sustainability in the project, noting, “Meeting sustainability targets allows us to access additional funding, which keeps us accountable.”
Facility Design and Strategic Importance
The Lagos data centre is a Tier III-certified facility, designed with a 33,000-volt power supply and an 11kV distribution network. It features dedicated transformers and power distribution rooms per phase, ensuring reliability and scalability.
OADC’s Lagos facility plays a critical role in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure, supporting cloud services, content delivery, and enterprise connectivity. The company aims to position itself as a key player in Africa’s rapidly growing data centre market, driven by increasing demand for cloud computing, AI workloads, and improved internet access.
Project Timeline and Future Expansion
The expansion project is expected to take approximately 18 months, though Coker acknowledged that such complex projects often extend beyond two years due to design and execution challenges.
In addition to the Lagos expansion, OADC is exploring further growth opportunities in Nigeria and other African markets, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Africa. The company already operates and is developing data centres in Kinshasa (DRC) and four locations in South Africa—Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.
OADC’s $240 million investment in its Lagos data centre underscores its commitment to advancing Africa’s digital infrastructure. By expanding its capacity and prioritizing sustainability, the company aims to meet the growing demand for data services while contributing to the continent’s economic and technological development. This project positions OADC as a leading player in Africa’s data centre market, with a focus on innovation, efficiency, and scalability.