Nigeria is actively engaging with investors from Denmark for potential investment in its ambitious 90,000-kilometer fibre optic project. This initiative was highlighted by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani. The minister shared these details following a meeting between Denmark's wealthiest individual and Chief Executive Officer of Bestseller, Anders Povlsen, and President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
The meeting, as reported by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, is part of the Tinubu administration's ongoing efforts to attract foreign investment and strengthen economic ties between Nigeria and Denmark.
Anders Povlsen was accompanied by the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens Hansen, senior embassy officials, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani.
"We are speaking with Denmark and some investors in Denmark to invest in our fibre optic network, where we are putting $2 billion. Our government is investing $900 million, and that is already done. We are seeking private investors to top up that money," Dr. Tijani told journalists after the meeting.
Nigeria's Project Bridge Fibre Optic Initiative
Launched three months prior to this announcement, Project Bridge represents the ministry's ambitious initiative to deploy a 90,000-kilometer fibre optic network across the country. The project operates under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), utilizing a public-private partnership (PPP) model to ensure efficient governance and accountability.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, described Project Bridge as the nation's most significant digital infrastructure endeavor to date during its high-level technical design unveiling in Lagos.
The Nigerian government will retain a minority stake in the project, ranging from 25% to 49%. The remaining funding will be provided by private sector companies and development finance institutions (DFIs), including the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The estimated cost for the project is $2 billion. It is projected that over half of this amount will be secured through sovereign loans, with the remainder sourced from private investments. This funding structure is designed to mirror the success of previous Nigerian PPPs, such as NIBSS and NLNG.
The project's design is engineered for robustness and scalability. It incorporates seven regional backbone rings that will connect Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones: Lagos, South West, South South, South East, North Central, North East, and North West. This ring architecture is intended to ensure redundancy, minimize latency, and facilitate seamless data flow throughout the nation.
Furthermore, 37 metropolitan networks are planned to link all 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). This comprehensive architecture is intended to support both large and small Internet Service Providers (ISPs), thereby fostering competition and encouraging infrastructure sharing to accelerate broadband expansion.
Upon completion, Project Bridge will expand Nigeria’s existing 35,000 kilometers of fibre optic cables to a total of 125,000 kilometers. This expansion will position Nigeria's fibre backbone as the third largest in Africa, surpassed only by those in Egypt and South Africa.
The initiative is anticipated to generate 20,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs. Additionally, it includes a plan to train 5,000 Nigerian youths through the Digital Bridge Institute, aiming to enhance skills necessary for network maintenance. The project will also provide internet access to over 200,000 educational, healthcare, and social institutions, addressing the connectivity gap for approximately 33 million Nigerians who are currently offline.
Industry experts estimate that this project could contribute to a 1.5% increase in Nigeria’s GDP per capita within four years, potentially raising the nation's GDP from $472.6 billion to around $502 billion.