{"id":4611,"date":"2026-09-26T08:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T08:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4611"},"modified":"2026-09-26T09:50:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T09:50:03","slug":"broadband-nigeria-expands-connectivity-as-90000km-fibre-optic-project-begins-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4611","title":{"rendered":"Broadband: Nigeria expands connectivity as 90,000km fibre optic project begins October"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>The Nigerian Government through the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, affirms the landmark fibre optic network project has a significant private sector investment offer of $1.2 billion as part of the Public-Private Partnership structure for project completion<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>All appears set as the Nigerian Government targets $1.2 billion in private capital to complete its total $2 billion 90,000km additional fibre optic network installations, known as Project BRIDGE, across the West African country.<\/p>\n<p><em>ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports the Federal Government has fixed the commencement of the physical deployment of the supplementary fibre optic network across all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) for October 2026, barring any last-minute shift in the timeline.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"jSGeoLOnKZ\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4634\">NITDA positioning Nigeria for next digital economy with AI-enabled global services &#8211;Inuwa<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cNITDA positioning Nigeria for next digital economy with AI-enabled global services \u2013Inuwa\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4634&amp;embed=true#?secret=BmfiPae7IM#?secret=jSGeoLOnKZ\" data-secret=\"jSGeoLOnKZ\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The government disclosed the project is designed to take the national network from the current 35,000km to roughly 125,000km at the end of the deployment of 90,000km fibre optics across the country&#8217;s digital space.<\/p>\n<p>It is noted that the landmark fibre optic project is being facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE), in conjunction with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), among other agencies under the Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>The strategic nationwide digital connectivity project is also managed by Bridge Open Access, or Bridge OA, a newly-incorporated company established as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to drive successful project implementation across the West African country.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sovereign funding, global partners pooled $800 million &#8211;Official <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In regard to a breakdown of the total $2 billion estimated cost of&nbsp; earmarked for the project, official records indicated that sovereign funding has secured at $800 million, as the World Bank contributed $500 million approved 2025; African Development Bank (AfDB) provided $200 million approved April this year; European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) added $100 million approved February 2026; European Union (EU) granted \u20ac22 million while private capital makes the $1.2 billion for project completion.<\/p>\n<p>However, the needed private capital is not a funding requirement that must be met before implementation can start, according to report. Rather, the facility forms the larger remaining portion of the project\u2019s estimated $2bn capital envelope, which Dr. &#8216;Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, pitched 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, the FMCIDE, March 2025, formally opened an investor consultation process.<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy invited private-sector players to express interest in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the rollout under a PPP model.<\/p>\n<p>Osibo Imhoitsike, Strategic Communications Adviser to the Minister, reportedly affirmed that Project BRIDGE had attracted substantial support from international development finance institutions and private-sector mobilisation through the transaction structure.<\/p>\n<p>Imhoitsike confirmed the sovereign financing secured to date included $500 million from the World Bank, $200 million from the AfDB, and $100 million from the EBRD.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, the European Union also provided a \u20ac22 million grant for Project BRIDGE for proper implementation.<\/p>\n<p>Imhoitsike also stated: \u201cThe government has received a significant private sector investment offer as part of the PPP structure, and that process is currently being concluded.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Dr. Tijani, in August 2026, had announced that physical rollout of the digital connectivity project would commence October.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Core objectives of fibre optic project in digital ecosystem <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the necessity of the project to advance connectivity across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, Ejike Onyeaso, a telecoms consultant, said: \u201cThe establishment of the company signalled that the project was moving into its implementation phase, with the industry now expecting the October rollout.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Onyeaso told The Punch: \u201cThe industry is really looking forward to that because it will help reduce costs for not just mobile network operators but also Internet service providers that rely on fibre, particularly in the hinterlands and underserved areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It also recalled that the Minister, April this year, reportedly stated: \u201cWe\u2019re now mobilising the private sector to plug the remaining gap.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He equally affirmed that over $800 million had been raised from the Federal Government and World Bank for the project.<\/p>\n<p><strong>W&#8217;Bank: Project can expand affordable, high-speed Broadband in Nigeria <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the far-reaching benefits of the fibre optic network project, the World Bank said the programme would help to close Nigeria&#8217;s digital divide by&nbsp; affordable, high-speed Broadband connectivity to communities that are unserved or underserved.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Verghis, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, was also quoted to have also said: \u201cThe BRIDGE project puts into action the bold and ambitious vision to unlock the potential of the digital economy in Nigeria, working alongside the private sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccess to fast and reliable internet will help to create more quality jobs for millions of Nigerians across all 774 LGAs in addition to improving the quality of essential services like education and healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Equity of PPP model and project implementation process<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Documents from the Ministry indicated that investors are expected to hold a majority stake in the Bridge OA, with equity ownership ranging from 51 percent to 75 percent and operational control of the company.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI), is expected to retain between 25 percent and 49 percent of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>The government explained the equity structure is intended to bring private capital and technical expertise into a project in which the government is providing part of the financing while retaining a minority position.<\/p>\n<p>The documents further noted that Bridge OA would handle the financing and construction of the network and operate it as a wholesale open-access infrastructure company rather than a retail internet provider.<\/p>\n<p>It is expected to sell fibre capacity on equal and non-discriminatory terms to qualified operators, including telecoms companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), banks and cloud providers, rather than directly serving end-users.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*The Nigerian Government through the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, affirms the landmark fibre optic network project has a significant private sector&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Photo: FMCIDE Nigeria","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-markets"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc.png",672,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc-300x179.png",300,179,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc.png",672,400,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc.png",672,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc.png",672,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Project-BRIDGE-cc.png",672,400,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"category\">InfoEducation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"category\">Markets<\/a>","tag_info":"Markets","comment_count":"4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4611"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4653,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611\/revisions\/4653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}