Nigeria eyes N28b from upcoming broadband deal with Israeli firm

Nigeria hopes to earn N28 billion and create 10,000 jobs over the next few years under a proposed deal with an Israeli technology firm planning to deploy broadband in the country, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation says.

The proposed satellite broadband concession with Messrs Gilat-Eleo Consortium (GO360) will bundle a planetarium and museum under plans to generate non-oil revenue for Nigeria, Dr. Adeleke Mamora, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister says.

According to the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, “with as little as 0.2percent broadband penetration in Nigeria, the government under president Buhari was now in a hurry to bring the satellite broadband project to completion in the next six months.”

Dr Adeleke Mamora, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Photo courtesy: FMSTI.

To achieve this, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) says it has issued two Full Business Case (FBC) certificates to the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the concession of a Satellite Internet Broadband project; Museum and Planetarium project to Messrs Gilat-Eleo Consortium (GO360) as the preferred bidder.

The government says that the proposed concession that was derived from an unsolicited proposal through Messrs Gilat-Eleo Consortium (GO360) as the preferred bidder , will utilise a Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) PPP model if approved.

The projects to be executed through the National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA) are expected to generate over N48 billion in revenue, create over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and also aid the fight against insecurity while providing internet penetration to rural areas.

“In terms of the broadband,” the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister says, “we are expecting 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for the 15 years of the concession. The project will also bring revenue of N28 billion naira to the country.”

ICRC on Nigeria Broadband Market Stakes

Michael Ohiani, ICRC Director General says the government agency has issued two Full Business Case (FBC) certificates to the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the concession of the Satellite Internet Broadband, Museum and Planetarium projects.

“With as little as 0.2percent broadband penetration in Nigeria, the government under president Buhari was now in a hurry to bring the satellite broadband project to completion in the next six months.”

Dr Adeleke Mamora, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister.

The FBCs were presented by the ICRC Director General to the Science Technology and Innovation Minister, who says that the proposed Planetarium, a domed building in which images of stars, planets, and constellations are projected for public entertainment or education, was modelled around similar use cases in other parts of the world.

“It is not over,” Mamora says, “it will not be until the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gives the approval. These are very critical projects that will enhance our development as a nation in all ramifications.”

According to him, the planned planetarium and museum projects are some of the projects deployed by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai to generate a pool of funds through tourism.

“We told the agencies and the directors when we came that one of the things we are looking at is how we can deploy technology to solve the most critical challenge of this country at this time which is insecurity”, the Minister says.

“With satellites,” he says, “you can monitor movements and gain intelligence. It is very critical and this will also provide a lot of employment.

“There is nowhere in the world that government does it alone and that is why we need the buy-in of the private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

“We will take these projects to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and defend them robustly and our expectation will not be cut short,” Mamora adds.

For the ICRC DG, two projects hope to bring employment opportunities to Nigerians, generate revenue and also support the government's fight against insecurity.

“In terms of the broadband,” Ohiani says, “we are expecting 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for the 15 years of the concession. The project will also bring revenue of N28 billion naira to the country.

“Also, in respect of the museum and planetarium, we are expecting that we will be receiving over 2160 visitors weekly, and it will generate an estimated N20 billion in revenue.

“It will also enhance tourism, capacity building, education, innovation and also address security challenges,” he says.

The concession also targets the deployment of over 7,000 very small aperture terminals (VSATs) all over Nigeria over the next two years through the proposed concession with Messrs Gilat-Eleo Consortium (GO360) as the preferred bidder.

For the Planetarium and Museum, the government is adopting the Equip, Operate and Maintain PPP model and expects 2,160 visitors weekly, out of which 360 will engage in the skydiving section and 1800 visitors for other tourist activities. The projects will also curb capital flight and increase non-oil revenue for the government.

On his part, Dr Halili Shaba, the NASRDA DG, says that in 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari asked the space agency to seek out avenues to generate revenue, pointing out that the two projects provided such an opportunity.

The plan will see NASRDA seeking to equip, operate and maintain the Planetarium and Museum to be located at the Obasanjo Space Centre in Abuja. The satellite agency’s proposed concession with the preferred bidder will see the research and development of satellite technology and equipment for the provision of cost-effective satellite broadband to rural areas across Nigeria.

The Planetarium, Shaba says, had been built for a while but was yet to be equipped due to paucity of funds, prompting the move to concession the project for private sector investment and operation.

For the broadband project, he says that Nigeria’s venture into space technology was majorly for socio-economic development which was why it was leveraging on the project to reach all Nigerians in rural areas.

“Some of the facilities that will be used will be assembled here in Nigeria: it is going to create jobs, it will bring more financial inflows into the country and it will enhance research and development within Nigeria,” the DG NASRDA says.