The World Bank has approved $500 million in financing for Nigeria under the BRIDGE project (Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth).
The initiative, led by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, aims to address the structural gaps that hinder broadband access in underserved areas.
With a total cost of $1.6 billion, the project will be financed with $1.1 billion from private investors, complemented by support from the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank. It includes the deployment of around 90,000 km of climate-resilient fiber optic cables, powered, when necessary, by renewable energy solutions.
The implementation plan comprises seven national rings, 37 metropolitan loops, 77 regional networks, as well as several edge data centers.
The government’s goal is to expand the national backbone from its current 35,000 km to more than 125,000 km, in order to cover 70% of the population in the coming months.
"Over the past two years, we have worked tirelessly on what is arguably the most ambitious and fundamental digital infrastructure project in Nigeria’s history,” said Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, last August while presenting BRIDGE’s technical design.