By Martin Ekpeke
The Federal Government of Nigeria has reached a critical milestone in its drive to overhaul national telecommunications infrastructure following the incorporation of Bridge Open Access (Bridge OA), an independent special purpose vehicle (SPV) established to oversee the execution of Project BRIDGE.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, on his official LinkedIn page.
The incorporation of Bridge OA signals the formal transition of the $2 billion nationwide broadband program from its design and financing stages into active physical deployment. Bridge OA will serve as the corporate vehicle to drive one of Africa’s largest open-access fibre infrastructure initiatives.
“Nigeria has reached another major milestone in the delivery of Project BRIDGE with the incorporation of Bridge Open Access (Bridge OA), the independent company that will deliver one of Africa’s largest open access fibre infrastructure programmes,” Dr. Tijani stated.
“This marks the transition from planning to execution, creating the institutional platform that will complete strategic investor onboarding, accelerate nationwide broadband deployment, and position Nigeria as a regional digital connectivity hub for West Africa,” the Minister added.
Project BRIDGE is structured to deploy 90,000 kilometres of new open-access fibre-optic cables across the country. The massive deployment will expand Nigeria’s existing national fibre backbone from roughly 30,000–35,000 km to over 120,000 km.
This expansion aims to extend high-speed broadband reach to all 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs), connecting schools, healthcare facilities, agricultural zones, and previously underserved communities.
Operating under a wholesale open-access model, Bridge OA will not provide direct retail services to consumers. Instead, it will allow telecom operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and enterprise networks non-discriminatory access to lease bandwidth, lowering the cost of network deployment and end-user data tariffs nationwide.
Bridge OA has been registered as an independent private limited liability company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). The initiative operates under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, where private-sector investors will hold a majority equity stake (at least 51%), while the Federal Government retains a minority interest (25% to 49%).
The multi-billion-dollar project has already secured substantial international backing, including World Bank approved $500 million in concessional financing toward the digital infrastructure buildout, African Development Bank (AfDB) approved $200 million in funding support and the Private Equity & DFIs, mobilizing remaining capital through strategic equity partners and development finance institutions.
With the institutional framework now established, Bridge OA will finalize strategic investor onboarding and begin phase-one civil works for the network rollout.