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The Federal Government has received a significant boost from the World Bank for its ambitious 90,000 km Fibre Fund project, aimed at expanding Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, announced on Wednesday via his X handle, following a successful meeting with World Bank officials in Washington DC, United States of America.
This project, which is expected to commence in the next 18 months, will increase the country’s fibre network from its current 35,000km to 125,000km, positioning Nigeria as the third-longest terrestrial fibre optic backbone in Africa, behind Egypt and South Africa.
“We had an excellent few days in DC with the World Bank as we received a massive boost for our 90,000 km #FibreFund project. We’re ready to move!” Tijani wrote. However, the minister did not provide further details.
The FG has also approved the Special Purpose Vehicle that will oversee the project’s delivery while development-funding partners are currently finalising the SPV structure to ensure the aggregation of funding required for the effective deployment of the fibre-optic network.
The minister, who informed reporters in May 2024 after a Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, disclosed that the African Development Bank had pledged $200 million, while the World Bank, the African Export-Import Bank, and the US Export-Import Bank, are also involved as donors.
Earlier this month, during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tijani noted the project’s timeline, saying, “We are working on laying 90,000 km of fibre optic cable across Nigeria.
“I’ll be naïve to expect people to start praising me in the first 12 months because this is a project that will probably take 18 months to assemble the $2bn required. The actual laying of the fibre will take another two to three years.”
