By Sami Tunji
The Federal Government plans to connect 55,675 public schools and health facilities to broadband internet under a $500m World Bank–backed programme designed to expand access to high-quality and climate-resilient digital infrastructure in underserved parts of the country.
According to the World Bank’s Implementation Status and Results Report on the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth project, also known as BRIDGE, the target includes 38,803 public schools and 16,872 health facilities expected to be connected by September 2030.
The project, approved by the World Bank Board on October 6, 2025, is aimed at expanding the inclusive use of broadband internet in selected unserved and underserved areas of Nigeria.
It is structured as a large-scale infrastructure intervention combining public financing with significant private sector participation.
Beyond social sector facilities, the report shows that total broadband-connected facilities are expected to rise to 59,103 by the end of the project, up from 33,628 recorded in September 2025.
This broader figure includes 3,428 local government administration offices, compared with a baseline of 510.
The World Bank document further indicates that the project will be delivered through a Special Purpose Vehicle created to deploy nationwide fibre-optic infrastructure.
While no private capital had been mobilised as of December 2025, the structure is expected to attract up to $1.1bn in private investment by September 2030, significantly exceeding the value of the concessional loan itself.
Transaction advisory services to establish the SPV are currently under contracting, with implementation activities expected to begin in early 2026 following the use of a Project Preparation Advance.
The World Bank document read, “Nigeria Building Digital Infrastructure for Growth Project was approved by the WBG Board of Directors on October 8, 2025.
“The Project Implementation unit is staffed. The Project has started its implementation through the Project Preparation Advance. Key procurements, including the Transaction Advisory, have been launched with the commencement of activities expected in early 2026.”
The report projects that the number of Nigerians using broadband internet will rise from a baseline of 92.01 million in April 2025 to 150 million by the project’s closing date.
Female broadband users are expected to increase from 30.36 million to 45 million, while youth users are projected to grow from 57.96 million to 100 million within the same period.
Infrastructure targets under the project include the deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic networks nationwide, with 90 per cent designed to be climate-resilient.
The expansion is expected to drive a 20 per cent reduction in wholesale broadband prices and lift fixed broadband median download speeds from 22.15 megabits per second to 50 megabits per second.
The programme also includes capacity-building measures, with 37,000 Nigerians expected to receive digital literacy training, 60 per cent of whom will be women.
Sex-disaggregated connectivity data generated under the project is expected to inform the Federal Government’s broadband policy framework.
On service delivery, the project targets a 90 per cent satisfaction rate among users accessing internet services provided through the SPV, while 90 per cent of grievances are expected to be resolved within approved timelines once the grievance redress mechanism becomes operational.
Financial data in the report show that the $500m IDA loan tied to the project had not been disbursed as of January 2026, as the facility was yet to become effective.
The World Bank rated progress towards achieving the project’s development objective and overall implementation as satisfactory, although the overall risk rating remains substantial, reflecting political, fiduciary, environmental and institutional capacity challenges identified in the report.
The PUNCH earlier reported that Nigeria planned to channel $460m, representing about 92 per cent of a $500m World Bank loan, into the capitalisation of a proposed fibre infrastructure company set up to deploy 90,000 kilometres of climate-resilient broadband fibre across the country.
This is contained in the Financing Agreement for the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth project between the Federal Government and the International Development Association, the concessional lending arm of the World Bank.
Under the agreement, the World Bank approved a $500m concessional credit to support Nigeria’s drive to expand access to high-quality and climate-resilient broadband internet in unserved and underserved areas.
Of this amount, $460m is earmarked specifically for equity financing and capitalisation of a new Project Company that will drive the fibre rollout. The remaining $40m will cover goods, works, consulting and non-consulting services, training, operating costs, and the refund of a preparation advance used to develop the project framework.
According to the document, the proposed Project Company will be established “as an independent, majority privately-owned and managed special purpose vehicle-joint venture with the objective of the deployment of 90,000 kilometres of climate-resilient fibre infrastructure following a phased approach, limited to provision of wholesale, open access services to licensed telecommunications operators, and management of associated investments, including the carrying out of preparatory activities and provision of transaction advisory services, and provision of equity financing in and capitalization of the Project Company.”
The Federal Government will participate in the company as a shareholder through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, which manages the government’s investment interests. However, the agreement explicitly caps the government’s shareholding at a maximum of 49 per cent, ensuring that the company remains majority privately owned.
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