Nigerian telecommunications company 9mobile has proposed a partnership with the country's Cross River state government.

As part of the partnership, 9mobile's CEO Juergen Peschel said that the company would help accelerate development in the state by building a new data center.

Peschel met with the governor of Cross River State, Senator Prince Bassey Otu, during the International Cooperation and Investment Summit in Calabar, Cross River State. During that meeting, Peschel told Senator Otu: “We propose to build a data center that will be instrumental in hosting any government data and form the basis of digitizing administrative processes. This will be one of the enablers of improving security in the state and will be based on the ‘Build, Operate, and Transfer Model.’ This center will also help educate and partner with universities to deepen learning."

The data center would further, according to Peschel, enable the state to delve into big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, as well as power online gaming communities.

9mobile would also provide electric governance, and contribute to the government's digitization efforts.

The proposal is a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) which the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission sees as an opportunity for the "skills and assets of each sector (public and private) [to be] shared in delivering a service or facility for the use of the general public."

Senator Otu said of the proposal that the state is an "ideal hub for investment" and that 9mobile is a "worthy partner." 9mobile will contribute its expertise, resources, and investment to Cross River State, creating jobs in the area and providing businesses with connectivity.

Negotiations with the state government remain ongoing.