Data Brief

Accelerating Nigeria’s Four Major Airports Network Transformation

Helping Africa’s Largest Economy to Connect with the World

Promoting Important Achievements for Practical Cooperation of the Belt and Road

Related Products: enterprise-level products such as switches, AD-NET (SDN & NFV)

Related Solutions: technical solutions such as intelligent connections, industry solutions such as transportation

Nigeria not only has hidden oases in the desert but also peacock-blue hot springs in the jungle, but also has countless abundance of minerals. Nowadays, more and more tourists from all over the world are coming to this magical, deeply loved land to experience its untouched natural scenery. Likewise, Nigeria is developing close connections with the world.

In December 2018, the new terminal building of Abuja international airport, capital of Nigeria, constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), was officially completed and opened. Nigeria’s President Buhari came to the completion ceremony and praised the work of the Chinese enterprise, saying that the new terminal is “ultra-modern” and will enhance the experiences of passengers from both home and abroad, helping Nigeria to build a regional air transport center. Upon its opening, this terminal in Abuja will became the most modern terminal in both Nigeria and the entire West African region, and it will effectively promote the development of Nigeria’s aviation industry.

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. With its economic development, especially the further revitalization of tourism industry, its aviation industry has ushered in a new stage of development. In response to the rapidly rapid growth of aviation infrastructure requirements, the Nigerian government and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have begun planning the upgrade and rebuilding airport facilities. In 2017, CCECC undertook the construction of airport projects in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja; Lagos, an economic and trade center; the important city of Port Harcourt; and Kano. In order to provide efficient network for the four airports, CCECC selected H3C, which possesses strong technical strength, to help Nigeria’s airports realize new digital technology experience with innovative network solutions.

Innovative Network Helps to Accelerate the Development of Nigeria’s Aviation Industry

According to data released by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s air transport industry achieved overall growth in 2018, with the total number of passengers entering and leaving the country’s airports exceeding 17 million. Among them, the international airport in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, is one of the country’s largest airports. The construction of its new terminal has not only greatly enhanced the overall strength of Nigeria’s aviation industry, but it has also become an important result of Practical Cooperation of the Belt and Road between China and Nigeria. The new terminal was officially put into construction in 2014, including a modern passenger terminal with an area of 56,000 square meters, a first-phase 20,000-square-meter aircraft parking area and a cargo terminal, among other related auxiliary projects. An elevated corridor connects to Abuja’s light rail system, allowing for a planned passenger throughput of 4.5 million per year.

The rapid expansion of the airport area and the rapid increase in passenger traffic have given the airport a network deployment problem. On the one hand, a larger area requires wider network coverage, higher efficiency and a more standardized management experience. On the other hand, the increasing number of passengers requires higher quality network service guarantees. Thus, after meticulous planning and design, H3C provided a comprehensive network solution. It adopted dual links construction of access network and IRF2 intelligent elastic architecture to build the core network, which greatly improved network reliability and stability. At the same time, in response to the shortage of local network equipment accessories in Nigeria, H3C adopted the Chinese spare parts strategy to quickly realize the timely arrival and delivery of network equipment, which won the approval of both CCECC and NCAA with its professional service and high quality.

Similarly, these innovative technologies and high-quality services were also used in the construction of three airports in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Kano. H3C adopted the method of debugging in China and delivered technical training and remote technical support to the on-site personnel of the partners, which reduced the after-sales service labor cost of the partners to the greatest extent.

The Cooperation between China and Nigeria Builds the Transportation Hub for the Belt and Road

Modern airports are the hubs and windows that connect cities, regions and even countries to the world. Digital technologies are currently driving and accelerating the aviation industry’s smart transformation. Fully-connected and data-driven smart airports will play a more critical, central role in the future development of the world economy. As the window and business card of Nigeria's major cities, the new terminals built at these four major airports will not only greatly enhance Nigeria’s national image, but also become hubs for intercontinental aviation in West Africa and promote economic development in various regions of Nigeria.

As the construction of the new airport terminal, the railway from Abuja to Kaduna and the Abuja Light Rail constructed by CCECC were also been put into operation, realizing the seamless connection of the air-rail transfer, which has significantly improved the passenger travel experience, improved the investment environment and promoted local economic and social development. The smooth implementation of these projects has further demonstrated the effectiveness of the Belt and Road cooperation between China and Africa, becoming a model of “Smart Manufacturing in China” for the world.

Under the initiative of the Belt and Road, it is time for Chinese companies to set sail. In 2019, H3C officially announced the latest international business vision and strategic plan, which means formally entered into overseas markets under the H3C brand, providing assistance for the digital economic development of various countries around the world. With the facilitation of H3C, the digital transformation of Nigeria’s airports will better connect this beautiful country with the whole world, creating deeper connections between Nigeria’s economy and society with the digital age. In the future, H3C will bring its advanced experience and advantages in digital transformation to wider overseas markets and work with overseas customers to promote the transformation for the digital age.