Agreements have been reached to establish a set top box manufacturing plant in Nigeria. The project, estimated to cost US$1 billion, has also received the approval of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

The plant will be established by NBC-licensed set top box manufacturer Media Concept International (MCI) Limited in partnership with South Korea-based KAON Media.

The companies said the plant will begin operations in Q4 of 2016.

Commenting on the deal, the Director General of the NBC Emeka Mba said the agreement reached by KAON Media and MCI will play critical roles in ensuring that Nigeria meets the new June 2017 digital migration deadline having missed the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) switchover deadline of June this year.

"Digital broadcasting migration as a national project is monumental and deserves professional competencies, because it entails total overhaul of the technologies existing in the broadcasting space," Mba said.

"With over 26million households who have access to television, Nigeria remains the biggest TV market in Africa, hence NBC has been making deliberate efforts to prevent one-off migration as producers' investments; the entertainment industry; viewers and the economy in general will be the worst hit."

According to Mba the setting up of a manufacturing plant in Nigeria for set top boxes to be properly tested and the production process adequately monitored was in line with the Commission's objective to prioritise high standards.

In his remark, Babatope Agbeyo, chairman of Media Concepts International Limited, said on completion, the plant would be able to manufacture three million set top boxes.

"The plant will also create more than one thousand jobs for Nigerians," he said.