Nigeria can now build 90,000 km of open-access fibre across all 774 LGAs
Bridge Open Access has been incorporated to execute Project BRIDGE, transitioning the $2 billion broadband plan from design to nationwide deployment.
Nigeria has incorporated the independent company that will carry its flagship broadband project from planning into execution, the minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, announced on Tuesday.
The new entity, Bridge Open Access (Bridge OA), is the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) tasked with delivering Project BRIDGE, one of Africa’s largest open-access fibre infrastructure programmes.
The news
The incorporation confirms that the project has moved past its design phase. Official planning documents from the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy had originally scheduled the SPV’s incorporation for Q3 2025, making this announcement an important execution milestone.
Bridge OA will now serve as the institutional platform to complete strategic investor onboarding, accelerate nationwide broadband deployment, and position Nigeria as a regional digital connectivity hub for West Africa. The company is registered as a private limited-liability company under Nigeria’s Corporate and Allied Matters Act, according to a World Bank project document.
The full-scale deployment target is at least 90,000 kilometres of new open-access fibre, expanding Nigeria’s national backbone from roughly 30,000–35,000 km to about 120,000–125,000 km. The build is designed to connect all 774 Local Government Areas, with the first year targeting an initial 30,000 km rollout.
The backing
The estimated total cost of Project BRIDGE is about $2 billion, funded through a mix of sovereign and concessional loans from development finance institutions and private-sector equity. The World Bank approved $500 million for the project on October 7, 2025, as part of a larger digital infrastructure financing package. In parallel, the African Development Bank approved a $200 million loan, forming part of an $800 million sovereign financing package. European Union materials describe the wider flagship as supported by an additional €45 million digital economy package, and project documents reference a €22 million grant alongside a $2.6 million preparation grant.
Why it matters
The programme targets Nigeria’s most persistent broadband bottleneck: expensive, limited middle-mile fibre. By lowering backbone access costs, Bridge OA could reshape the economics for Internet service providers, mobile operators, cloud and data infrastructure providers, and startups. Connectivity should improve beyond Lagos, Abuja, and other commercial hubs into underserved LGAs, and the infrastructure is designed to serve schools, health facilities, rural communities, agro-industrial zones, and commercial centres.
The project is also intended to create cross-border links with Benin, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad, reinforcing Nigeria’s aspiration to become a West African connectivity hub. A report in Punch cited NITDA officials saying delivery was expected by Q1 2026, pointing to a near-term operational horizon now that the corporate vehicle exists.
“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.”
The minister’s statement, shared on his X account, frames the incorporation as the transition point from design to execution.
What comes next is the hard part: onboarding the commercial and development-finance partners, breaking ground on the Year One fibre build, and proving that an open-access wholesale model can work at national scale. The implementation window runs from September 2025 to September 2030, so the timeline is set. The question now is whether Bridge OA can move at the pace the market needs.
