Airtel Nigeria will build 2,000 new base stations at a cost of NGN 75 billion across the country this year, the Punch newspaper reported. CEO Rajan Swaroop said half of the proposed new base stations will be solely used by Airtel for its operations, while the remaining half will be available for collocation with other mobile operators. He said the base stations are part of the firm's expansion programme and efforts to improve its network for superior service offerings. Swaroop added that the telecoms company would also increase the size of its call centre facilities by 1,500 seats. He had said when the company took over Zain Nigeria in June 2010 that it would invest USD 600 million in Airtel over the next three years. Around USD 300 million of the total investment would be spent within the next 12 months.