Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Technology, and Innovation, Bosun Tijani, has announced that the World Bank has committed $500 million to finance the country’s ambitious plan to extend its fibre optic infrastructure by 90,000km. This significant development comes just a day after the United States government approved a $2 million grant to support the expansion initiative.
During an interview on Channels TV on Wednesday night, Minister Tijani revealed that additional donors have made similar pledges, which will help the government reach the $2 billion required to complete the project. “The World Bank has committed to push us through if everything aligns… we’ll get to the point where we sign and they will release their part by summer, which is by the end of Q2 into Q3,” he stated.
Regarding the installation timeline, Tijani indicated that the project aims to begin trenching the ground for the fibre optic layers in the third quarter of the year, specifically targeting September or October. He noted that projects of this magnitude typically take five to six years to complete. The minister also assured that the government plans to hire competent companies and provide the specialized equipment necessary for the installation, demonstrating a strong commitment to the project’s success.
My personal ambition is that we should start digging the ground to lay the fibre networks by Q3, sometime in September, October. 90,000km is significant. In some countries, this will take five, six years. What we are doing is actually starting a training program that will focus on increasing the pool of companies with the capacity to do this work. Also, remember that it takes special equipment to dig. Part of what we’re doing as a country is to see whether we can collectively import civil work equipment to help these small businesses support our development.
Bosun Tijani
In addition to improving Internet access and creating jobs, the minister highlighted that the project, once completed, will position Nigeria as a regional leader in the telecommunications sector, capable of supporting neighboring countries.
In October 2024, Nigeria secured a ₦2.8 billion Google grant to promote AI talent development in the country. The expansion of the fibre network on such a large scale is expected to create opportunities across industries, drive business growth in a more connected environment, and promote innovation in key sectors such as education, healthcare, and finance.
