Nigeria 90,000km fibre rollout

The Federal Government of Nigeria, under President Bola Tinubu, is set to commence the rollout of a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network nationwide, with deployment expected to begin within weeks and formally in October 2026. The project, known as Project BRIDGE (Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth), aims to extend Nigeria's fibre backbone from about 35,000km to roughly 125,000km, covering every state, geopolitical zone, local government area, and ward. Funding has been secured from multiple development partners: the World Bank Group approved $500m in October 2025, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development committed $100m alongside a €22m European Union grant, and the African Development Bank approved $200m in April 2026. Minister Bosun Tijani announced that the government will also deploy about 3,700 telecommunications towers from October to provide coverage to over 20 million Nigerians in underserved communities, and will launch an alphanumeric postcode system on October 1 to assign unique addresses to every property. The Nigeria — Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has leased its Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre to Nigeria — Enugu State for 15 years to be developed as the Enugu Talent City and AI Institute. These initiatives are part of broader reforms, including designating digital infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure, tariff adjustments, and tax harmonisation, which have contributed to the telecommunications sector's GDP contribution rising from 16-18% to nearly 21%.