Floods Slow MTN’s $1.3Bn Modernisation Project

MTN Nigeria said its network modernisation being implemented as a part of its $1.3 billion capital expenditure budget is being challenged by the flood disaster and the increasing wave of insecurity in some parts of the country.

The operator has appealed for understanding from its customers and other key stakeholders as it continues its network upgrade

Wale Goodluck, the company's corporate services executive, the pace of work has been considerably challenged by the spate of insecurity coupled with the unprecedented flooding being experienced in many parts of the country.

The network optimization exercise will affect over 4,000 base stations out of over 10,000 across the country. In at least 13 states, flooding has created additional logistic impediments such that the pace of the ongoing network modernization efforts has slowed down.

The upgrade begun in July is expected to cover the entire country and was originally expected to span a period of nine months.

Its objectives are to considerably enhance capacity on the MTN network and improve service quality.

Under the project, which is being implemented by a combined team of MTN engineers and technical partners that include Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE, key network components are being swapped with the latest upgrades in the industry.

 In addition, current power systems are being replaced with hybrid power systems which are more environment-friendly.