Nigeria has officially entered the procurement phase for Project BRIDGE, a monumental $2 billion initiative to blanket the nation with 90,000km of fibre-optic cable. Backed by a $500 million credit from the World Bank, along with commitments from the AfDB and EBRD, the project aims to connect all 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). This “Infrastructure Sprint” is designed to strip away the high cost of middle-mile transit, theoretically triggering a “Connectivity Price Crash” that could finally see the retail cost of 1GB of data drop below the ₦200 mark by late 2026.
Dismantling the High-Cost Backbone
While subsea cables have brought massive capacity to Lagos shores, Nigeria’s “middle-mile” remains a bottleneck. High Right-of-Way (RoW) fees and fragmented infrastructure have kept inland data costs artificially high. Project BRIDGE utilizes a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model—where the government holds a minority 49% stake—to deploy an open-access, wholesale fibre network that allows any ISP to “plug in” and deliver affordable internet to rural clusters.
The Road to ₦200 Data
The project is structured to move the needle on affordability through three mechanical shifts: 
- Wholesale Open Access: By providing a state-backed neutral backbone, the project eliminates the need for every telco to dig its own expensive trenches.
- Targeted Rural Reach: The rollout focuses on 33 million currently offline Nigerians, creating the “economies of scale” needed to lower prices.
- May 13 Milestone: The World Bank has set a May 13, 2026, deadline for private sector investor bids to finalize the SPV’s funding and operational structure.
Why It Matters
Universal fibre access is the prerequisite for Nigeria’s 2026 digital roadmap:
- SME Scaling: Lower data costs allow small businesses in rural areas to participate in the $18.3B digital economy via e-commerce and social commerce.
- Education & Health: High-speed fibre enables telemedicine and digital learning in regions that were previously “digitally quarantined.”
- Investment Magnet: A predictable, low-cost connectivity environment makes Nigeria the preferred destination for global data centres and AI research labs.
Connecting the Unconnected
Project BRIDGE represents the most ambitious infrastructure undertaking in Nigeria’s digital history. By leveraging World Bank backing to de-risk the “middle-mile,” the government is setting the stage for a competitive price war that favours the consumer.
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