Nigeria is in talks with the World Bank to finance a significant expansion of its fiber optic cable network, aiming to become Africa’s third-largest in the category, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has said.
Disclosing this on his X handles during the kickoff of Nigeria Week in Washington, United States, the Minister said the initiative follows the recent government approval of a special purpose vehicle to oversee the project’s delivery, targeting an additional 90,000 kilometers of cables.
“Excellent discussions with the World Bank Global Digital Development team on our digital economy agenda, particularly our plans to build a 90,000 km fiber optic network,” he posted.
The project seeks to boost Nigeria’s fiber optic capacity from 35,000 km to 125,000 km. This expansion would position Nigeria as the third-largest holder of terrestrial fiber optic backbone in Africa, trailing only South Africa and Egypt.
Tijani, a strong advocate for broadband access as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s digital economy, has actively engaged stakeholders to advance this crucial infrastructure project.