The minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has unveiled the technical blueprint for Project BRIDGE, a transformative national infrastructure project that will deploy 90,000km of fibre-optic cable across the country.
Tijani, who disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement event in Lagos, described the initiative as the most ambitious and foundational digital infrastructure project in Nigeria’s history.
“Project BRIDGE is a critical pillar in the implementation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s *Renewed Hope Agenda. This is about more than fibre; it is about inclusion. It is about ensuring every Nigerian, whether in a major city or rural community, can participate in and benefit from the digital economy,” Tijani said.
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When completed, the project will increase Nigeria’s national fibre footprint from 35,000km to 125,000km, making it the largest fibre backbone investment in any developing nation, and one of the most extensive on the continent. The network is designed to be wholesale, open-access and support both large and small internet service providers (ISPs) through core, metropolitan, and middle-mile layers.
“By enabling competition and shared infrastructure, we are laying the groundwork for faster, more affordable broadband across Nigeria,” the minister said.
At the heart of the design are seven regional backbone rings, connecting Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and Lagos. These rings will form the resilient core of the network, ensuring low latency, high capacity, and redundancy, essential for stable digital services.
Each of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) will be connected through dedicated Points of Presence (PoPs), forming the middle-mile network. From these hubs, fibre will extend to thousands of administrative wards, particularly targeting schools, healthcare centres, and government facilities, to enhance last-mile connectivity.
“Our goal is to ensure that connectivity is not just in cities, but in every LGA and every ward. Digital inclusion must be universal,” Tijani said.
The minister noted that the network architecture is scalable and future-proof, guided by population density and usage demand, with room for expansion as technology and economic activities evolve.
The final last mile of the project will support ISPs and other service providers to deliver internet to homes, businesses, and institutions, leveraging the foundational network built through Project BRIDGE.
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Tijani emphasized that the next phase of the rollout will depend heavily on input from public and private sector partners. “As we move forward, we invite feedback, collaboration, and innovation from across the ecosystem. Together, we will bridge the digital divide and build an inclusive, future-ready economy,” he stated.
