Nigeria: Equinix to Invest $22m in New Lagos Data Centre

Equinix, the global data centre giant that acquired MainOne in 2022, plans to construct a $22 million data centre in Lagos, marking its first newly built facility in West Africa.

The project, named LG3, will cater to local enterprises and multinational firms scaling into Nigeria, Africa's largest digital hub. Scheduled to go live in Q1 2026,

LG3 represents the opening phase of Equinix's $100 million Africa investment strategy, designed to accelerate digital transformation across the continent.

Lagos, home to 18 million internet subscribers and the highest concentration of fintechs, banks, and telecoms in Nigeria, is central to the country's $684 million data centre market, projected to grow 2.5x by 2030.

The city's multiple subsea cable landing stations and expanding enterprise ecosystem make it a strategic gateway for global connectivity.

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Key Takeaways

Equinix's LG3 will feature Equinix Fabric®, enabling seamless global interconnection to over 270 data centres worldwide, and enhancing access to cloud, AI, and digital infrastructure. "As Lagos emerges at the crossroads of talent, innovation, and global connectivity, this facility is accelerating access to technologies like cloud, AI, and the next wave of startups," said Wole Abu, Equinix's Managing Director for West Africa. The Lagos site forms part of a broader expansion that includes a new Port Harcourt data centre (PR1), planned as the first landing station for Meta's 2Africa subsea cable outside Lagos. Since acquiring MainOne for $320 million, Equinix has leveraged its assets -- 7,000 km of submarine cable and over 1,200 km of terrestrial fibre -- to drive regional growth. Competing players such as MTN ($240M), Airtel ($120M), and OADC (24 MW expansion) are also racing to meet Nigeria's surging demand for cloud and AI capacity.

Read the original article on Daba Finance.