FG targets $1.2bn private funding for fibre project

File: The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani.

The Federal Government is seeking about $1.2bn in private capital for its planned 90,000-kilometre nationwide fibre network, as the project moves towards physical deployment in October with a newly incorporated company set up to drive its implementation.

Official records from the government and global financial institutions reviewed by The PUNCH show that $800m of the estimated $2bn cost of the Federal Government’s planned fibre network has so far been covered by sovereign financing commitments, leaving about $1.2bn of the project cost outstanding.

The $800m comprises a $500m World Bank facility approved in October 2025, a $100m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved in February 2026, and a $200m African Development Bank loan approved in April, the records show.

The private capital is not a funding requirement that must be met before implementation can start. Rather, it forms the larger remaining portion of the project’s estimated $2bn capital envelope, which the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, pitched in 2024.

Strategic Communications Adviser to the Minister, Osibo Imhoitsike, told The PUNCH that Project BRIDGE had attracted substantial support from international development finance institutions and private-sector mobilisation through the transaction structure.

He confirmed that the sovereign financing secured to date included $500m from the World Bank, $200m from the African Development Bank and $100m from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The European Union also provided a €22m grant for Project BRIDGE.

“The government has received a significant private sector investment offer as part of the PPP structure, and that process is currently being concluded,” Imhoitsike said.

The minister, Tijani, confirmed in August that physical rollout was expected to begin in October. The October date follows the incorporation of Bridge Open Access, or Bridge OA, in August as the special-purpose vehicle for the project.

“The establishment of the company signalled that the project was moving into its implementation phase, with the industry now expecting the October rollout,” Telecom consultant Ejike Onyeaso told The PUNCH.

“The 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.”

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In March 2025, his ministry formally opened an investor consultation process, inviting private-sector players to express interest in the Special Purpose Vehicle for the rollout under a public-private partnership model.

In April 2026, Tijani stated, “We’re now mobilising the private sector to plug the remaining gap,” after noting that over $800m had been raised from the government and World Bank for the project. The project is designed to take the national network from the current 35,000km to roughly 125,000km.

The World Bank said the programme would help close the country’s digital divide by expanding affordable, high-speed broadband to communities that remain unserved or underserved.

“The 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,” World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said.

“Access 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.”

Documents from the ministry show that investors are expected to hold a majority stake in Bridge OA, with equity ownership ranging from 51 per cent to 75 per cent and operational control of the company. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, or MoFI, is expected to retain between 25 per cent and 49 per cent.

The structure is intended to bring private capital and operating expertise into a project in which the government is providing part of the financing while retaining a minority position.

Bridge OA will handle the financing and construction of the network and operate it as a wholesale open-access infrastructure company rather than a retail internet provider. It is expected to sell fibre capacity on equal and non-discriminatory terms to qualified operators, including telecommunications companies, internet service providers, banks and cloud providers, rather than directly serving end users.

The rollout had previously been targeted for the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026, but large-scale construction was deferred as the government worked to establish the special-purpose vehicle, onboard private investors and complete the necessary procurement and implementation arrangements.

The project was initially expected to be implemented over about five years, with an initial target of roughly 30,000km in the first year before the pace increased as private capital and construction capacity were brought into the programme. Tijani has since revised the overall delivery period to three years, bringing forward the expected completion of the 90,000km network.