Nigeria’s plan to float a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for a $2 billion fibre-optic project will position the country to become home to the third-largest terrestrial fibre infrastructure in Africa, according to the Federal Government.

The Federal Executive Council had in May this year approved the floating of the SPV planned to roll out 90,000km of fibre optic cable across the country following the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Bola Tinubu, according to Dr Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, 

Minister says $2 billion SPV fibre project will bridge digital divide

As a mandate of his Communications Innovation and Digital Economy’s Ministry’s mandate to improve the nation’s connectivity, Tijani said on Tuesday that this led to the establishment of the Fibre Forward Strategic Development Workshop, which laid the groundwork for the $2 billion SPV project to deliver an additional 90,000km fibre-optic network across Nigeria.

The initiative, the Minister said, aims to birth a significant milestone of promoting Nigeria as the third-largest terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure in Africa, with Egypt and South Africa leading.

Tijani said the initiative was a demonstration of Nigeria’s dedication to bridging the digital divide and achieving a digitally driven economy.

At the event held in Abuja, Mr Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, addressed the workshop, saying that “the Federal Government is committed to ensure the project’s success, which will foster economic growth, job creation, and technological empowerment”.

According to Edun, the approval of the SPV project by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in May offers Nigeria’s digital infrastructure benefits beyond the positioning. With 90,000km of fibre set to be added to the existing 35,000km, the country will be able to leverage the benefits of the 8 submarine cables already landed in Nigeria. This increased data capacity will drive uptake, far beyond the current 10% usage level.

Additionally, the impact of this enhanced connectivity will be far-reaching, extending to over 200,000 educational, healthcare, and social institutions across Nigeria. By bridging the current digital divide, more sections of the society will be included in the benefits of internet connectivity.

Furthermore, the extension will help in increasing internet penetration in Nigeria to over 70% and reduce the cost of access to the internet by over 60%, with inclusion of at least 50% of the 33 million Nigerians currently excluded from access to the internet. Lastly it should deliver up to 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth per capita, raising GDP from $472.6 billion (2022) to $502 billion over the next four years.

According to a statement by the Finance Ministry, “The discourse marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards revolutionizing connectivity. 

The $2 billion Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) initiative aims to extend the nation’s fibre-optic backbone by 90,000 km.  On completion, the project positions Nigeria to boast of Africa’s third largest terrestrial fibre optic infrastructure.” 

During the workshop, Edun “reiterated the Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the success of the project fostering economic growth, job creation, and technological empowerment.”

While writing later on social media platform X, Tijani said that “we had an extremely productive conversation with Development Finance Institutions and other stakeholders to identify and outline steps towards setting up the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to build out 90,000km of fibre optic connectivity across Nigeria.”