Nigeria’s $2 billion satellite procurement nearly completed

Nigeria’s procurement process for six new satellites under a programme estimated at $2 billion has reached a 95% completion threshold.

It moves the country closer to signing contracts with foreign technical partners for the manufacture and deployment of the space assets.

Director-General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Prof Matthew Adepoju, disclosed this on Friday, October 2, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Adepoju said the current administration approved six satellites to modernise Nigeria’s space infrastructure and replace ageing assets supporting the country’s communications and Earth-observation capabilities.

Adepoju said the Earth-observation component would provide Nigeria with higher-resolution imaging capabilities while the two communications satellites would strengthen the country’s satellite communications infrastructure.

“We have three optical satellites to be launched at sub-metre resolution. We have Synthetic Aperture Radar to be launched at one-metre and sub-metre resolution, then communication satellites, which come as 2A and 2B.”

He said the procurement exercise was approaching its final stage, with formal agreements with international technology partners expected to follow.

“Currently, there is a procurement procedure which we are at 95 per cent level now. Very soon, at the African Space Economic Conference coming up in November, we will be signing an MoU and contractual agreement with our foreign technical partners,” he stressed.

The programme also includes plans for a new Assembly, Integration and Testing Laboratory, which NASRDA expects to use for the local assembly, integration and testing of future satellites.

According to Adepoju, the facility is expected to move from contract signing to commissioning within 18 months and form part of Nigeria’s push to build more satellite-development capacity locally.

He added that the government was tightening supervision of activities within Nigeria’s space ecosystem, particularly in space regulation and spectrum management, to ensure that domestic and foreign operators comply with national requirements.

Nigeria accelerates space infrastructure plans

The latest procurement milestone follows a series of government decisions this year aimed at expanding Nigeria’s satellite infrastructure and strengthening oversight of the space sector.

The satellite investments are also unfolding alongside Nigeria’s renewed Digital Switch-Over programme, under which the Federal Government nationally launched the FreeTV platform in June.

The government and broadcasting industry have adopted a hybrid delivery model combining digital terrestrial television, direct-to-home satellite services and digital application-based platforms to distribute television content through multiple channels.