Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has confirmed reports that, NextGen InfraCo was created a week before they were awarded the contract to roll out GHANA’S 5G network.
According to the Member of Parliamentary for the Ablekuma West Constituency, NextGen InfraCo was created purposely for the 5G network rollout because there was no existing neutral infrastructure company capable of handling the rollout at the time.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful further explained that they awarded the contract to a new entity in order to avoid the challenges they faced during the rollout of the 4G network and also because they want to speed up the implementation process for the 5G network rollout.
“This is a special purpose vehicle and once the government took the decision that we will use a neutral infrastructure company to deliver this service, there is no existing neutral infrastructure company that can deliver it at the moment.”
“So, it had to be specifically formed for the purpose of delivering this service based on the strategic policies and decisions of the government, and it is borne out of our experiences and that is why we chose not to auction it,” the Minister stated at a press briefing on the 5G network rollout held at the Ministry of Information on Thursday, May 30, 2024.