Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, announced a significant advancement in the country’s connectivity efforts thanks to the World Bank. This initiative aims to deploy 90,000 km of fibre optic infrastructure across Nigeria.
Tijani shared the announcement on his X account, though details about the specific nature of the World Bank’s support—financial or otherwise—were not disclosed. He had previously mentioned ongoing discussions with various financial institutions, including the World Bank, to secure the US$2 billion funding needed for the project.
In his post, Tijani expressed enthusiasm, saying, “An excellent few days in DC with the World Bank as we received a massive boost for our 90,000 km Fibre Fund project. We’re ready to move! Let’s go.” He added that numerous organisations are finalising arrangements for financing and noted that the Federal Executive Council has established a special entity dedicated to aggregating the necessary funds for deployment.
The primary objective is to expand Nigeria’s connectivity backbone from 35,000 km to an impressive 125,000 km, significantly enhancing national connectivity and telecommunications services. Tijani emphasised that improved connectivity would foster a more dynamic digital environment, creating immediate and long-term opportunities for Nigerians.
He anticipates that the deployment will commence within the next six months and highlighted the project’s potential to increase internet penetration to over 70% while reducing access costs by more than 60%.
