£18 million ICT project approved by AfDB

8 September 2009

The Helios Shared Telecom Infrastructure project in Nigeria has received a $30 million loan (£18.1 million) from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Aimed at stimulating non-oil growth and improving the business climate, the project was said to respond to high demand by Nigerian telecom operators.

The shared Helios Towers Nigeria facilities would keep both investment and operating costs to a minimum and the environmental impact of reduced physical infrastructure was also considered in the proposal.

The AfDB said building ICT infrastructure fulfilled one of its key objectives - creating an environment conducive to private business.

Nigeria's broadband capacity also recently got a big boost with the launching of Glo 1, an underwater cable which operator Globacom said could cater to Nigeria's sector needs for decades to come and would stimulate "a new era of prosperity in the continent".

The company's executive director Paddy Adenuga told reporters that the progress could "bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world".

Category: ICT