ATC Nigeria pens US$2.4m infrastructure deal
Nigeria
,
28 Jul 2020
American Tower Corporation Nigeria (ATC Nigeria) has announced a deal with Indian firm Salasar Techno Engineering to increase the number of its telecommunication towers in order to meet an increasing demand for connectivity.
Nigeria's telecommunications industry continues to record growth, despite the impact of COVID-19.
According to industry figures published by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the number of telecommunications subscribers grew from 184.7 million at the end of 2019 to 192.3 million in May 2020, with teledensity increasing from 96.76% to 100.72% within the same period.
Confirming the deal, Salasar Techno Engineering announced that it has received an initial order of 189 telecom towers to be supplied to ATC Nigeria, adding that the value of the deal is US$2.43-million.
While the order was announced in July 2020, developments leading to the deal began in June 2020 when both parties signed a supply agreement according to which publicly-traded Salasar Techno Engineering will provide standard steel telecommunications structures as per ATC specification and telecommunication structures accessories that all African ATC entities will utilise.
The announcement of the agreement was welcomed by Salasar Techno Engineering Limited’s investors as the price of the company’s stocks rose by 4%.
The order is expected to be executed within two months, suggesting that the towers would be delivered by late September 2020.
Despite the impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms market, especially telecommunications infrastructure manufacturing and supply, Salasar Techno Engineering disclosed that as of 31March 2020, it had orders for engineering, procurement and construction booked amounting to over US$51-million over the next eight quarters.
ATC said the new infrastructure will reinforce its market position.
“With the demand for connectivity for mobile devices on the rise, ATC has decided to further expand its sites to anticipate this need and expand its portfolio to meet the needs of customers across the country,” the company stated.