On an incremental basis, the number of data centres in Nigeria is growing, presenting implications for the real estate market in the country. By the last count, the number has hit 21 and this has not only positioned the country as a continental leader, but also as regional digital hub.
It is expected that this rising number of centres will attract companies requiring Grade A office spaces, corporate housing for expatriate staff, and serviced apartments for business travel.
The demand particularly benefits submarkets where commercial space commands premium rents as the concentration of data centres has been shown to enhance property values in connected areas.
A new report by Panterra, a research and investment firm, confirms this, adding that the demand also creates development opportunities in underserved regions.
Ayo Ibaru, director of research and chief investment officer at Panterra, advises investors to target commercial properties near data centre clusters, and anticipate spillover demand and infrastructure improvements.
An earlier report by Estate Intel, an African real estate market intelligence platform, notes that the data centre segment has emerged as the fastest-growing asset class in Nigeria’s construction industry, with a development pipeline equivalent to 186.37 percent of existing stock and total supply projected to exceed 218 megawatts (MW) by 2030.
The report, titled ‘Lagos Real Estate Development Pipeline Report,’ revealed that Nigeria’s data centre capacity is expected to grow from 56.1MW in 2025 to more than 218MW by 2030—representing over 3.7 folds increase.
“This growth is being driven by rising interest from major global players such as Equinix, OADC and Digital Realty, reinforcing the sector’s strong development trajectory,” Dolapo Omidire, Estate Intel’s Founder/CEO, said.
Data centre construction has become increasingly more investor-friendly. Licenses approval is now taking shorter times, thereby encouraging more investors to take position, and also raising investment interest in real estate market.
According to the Panterra report, Airtel Nigeria will invest $120 million in its Nxtra by Airtel Data Centre in Eko Atlantic. It aims to be Nigeria’s largest upon completion in Q1 2026. The data centre will serve hyperscale cloud service providers.
The centre which sits on 28,000sqm, is designed as a carrier-neutral, 38MW IT load system in a G+5 building with two data halls per floor. This will support over 3,000 racks at up to 25 kW per rack.
It is expected that the market for data centre construction will reach $565 million by 2029, up from $250 million in 2024. Rising demand has led to developments in major cities. Lagos hosts most data centre construction in places like Lekki, Oregun, Ikorodu, Eko Atlantic, Magboro, among others.
“The current data centre development focus is likely to accelerate due to increased demand,” Ibaru hopes, noting that investors are seeking future infrastructure opportunities.
The growth of these centres is, however, not without some challenges such as high land, building, and electricity costs, which may stifle growth. Again, Nigeria’s data centre strategy is a growing investor drag as internet use, fintech growth, and government digitisation demand safe, local data infrastructure.
Rising data centre growth is a global phenomenon as investment in the data centre market globally reached $61 billion in 2025, according to an analysis by S&P Global, first reported by CNBC.
S&P Global, a market intelligence firm, described the growth in data centres as a “global construction frenzy that shows no signs of slowing,” to build out the massive real estate, hardware, and energy requirements driven by insatiable demand from AI companies.
“There are approximately 500 data centres in the United Kingdom, compared with about 4,000 in the United States,” according to Data Centre Map, which tracks the facilities globally, citing Struta, the S&P Global analyst, who said he does not see the demand for data centres slowing.
“The global data centre footprint is projected to expand at a faster rate over the next five years than it did in the previous five, spurred by demand for energy- and computer-intensive AI workloads,” Struta said.
