Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said that the state was positioned to become the digital hub for the South-South geo-political zone, with the 400km fibre optic internet infrastructure worth over $20m being laid by tech giants, Facebook and MainOne in the state.
The governor disclosed this on the sidelines of the Annual Investment Meeting, which held in Dubai, United Arabs Emirates, after taking time off his vacation to attend the business meeting.
Facebook and MainOne are building an internet infrastructure, which is expected to boost internet connectivity and provide needed support to the growing tech ecosystem, including technology hubs and parks, in the state, the Governor said.
“Today, we have an innovation hub, we are partnering with technology companies. But what is even more important is that we are working with Facebook and MainOne. We are constructing about 400 kilometers of fibre optic cable in Edo as we speak.
“In the next couple of months, it should be ready for commissioning. Don’t forget that we have energy, we have a lot of oil and gas and therefore we are building power plants, outside Azura, we are also building another 55 megawatts power plant. With electricity and fibre, we are 50 percent there.”Obaseki noted that the state government intends to harness the infrastructure to address a wide range of challenges in the state.
“All we need to do is to get the content providers, and get our educational system to tap into this new reality. Facebook and MainOne have invested in excess of $20m, in the project.”
On the summit theme, Mapping the Future of Foreign Direct Investment: Enriching World Economies through Digital Globalisation,” the governor said: “The global economic growth now is coming more from digital transactions from digital economies and it’s important that emerging markets key in. So this summit is very apt.”
