“We are speaking with Denmark investors to invest in our fibre optic network,”- Minister Bosun Tijani

Nigeria is in talks with investors from Denmark to invest in its 90,000km fibre optic project. This was made known by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani. The minister disclosed this while speaking to the press following the visit of Denmark’s richest man and Chief Executive Officer of Bestseller, Anders Povlsen, to President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

According to a post by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the meeting is part of ongoing efforts by the Tinubu administration to attract foreign investment and strengthen economic ties between Nigeria and Denmark.

Povlsen was accompanied by the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens Hansen, senior officials of the embassy, 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”, he told journalists after the meeting.

Nigeria’s Project Bridge fibre optic initiative

Launched three months ago, Project Bridge, an ambitious initiative by the ministry to deploy a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network across the country. The project operates under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). This public-private partnership (PPP) model ensures efficient governance and accountability.

Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, while unveiling the project’s high-level technical design in Lagos, described it as the country’s most ambitious digital infrastructure endeavour yet.

The Nigerian government will hold a minority stake, between 25% and 49%. Private sector companies and development finance institutions (DFIs) like the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) will fund the rest.

The estimated cost is $2 billion. Over half of it is projected to be secured through sovereign loans, and the other half from private investments. This structure mirrors successful Nigerian PPPs like NIBSS and NLNG.

The project’s design is robust and scalable. It features seven regional backbone rings connecting Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones: Lagos, South West, South South, South East, North Central, North East, and North West. The rings ensure redundancy, minimise latency, and enable seamless data flow nationwide.

Additionally, 37 metropolitan networks will link all 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). This architecture supports both large and small Internet Service Providers (ISPs). It encourages competition and infrastructure sharing to accelerate broadband expansion.

The project will expand Nigeria’s existing 35,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to a total of 125,000 kilometres. This will make Nigeria’s fibre backbone the third largest in Africa, trailing only Egypt and South Africa.

The initiative is expected to create 20,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs. It will also train 5,000 Nigerian youths through the Digital Bridge Institute, enhancing skills for network maintenance. Additionally, over 200,000 educational, healthcare, and social institutions will gain internet access, addressing the connectivity gap for 33 million offline Nigerians.

Experts estimate it could increase Nigeria’s GDP by 1.5% per capita, raising it from $472.6 billion to about $502 billion within four years.