The European Union (EU) has committed €22 million in grant funding to support Nigeria’s nationwide fibre-optic expansion under the federal government’s project BRIDGE initiative.
The grant was announced in a statement in Abuja on
Wednesday.
According to the statement, the grant will be channelled
through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) before
being “on-granted to the federal ministry of communications, innovation, and
digital economy”.
The EU said the grant complements an €86 million loan from
the EBRD’s own resources, which is awaiting final approval in the coming weeks.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Odile Renaud-Basso,
president of the EBRD, who is on an official visit to Nigeria, said the bank
was pleased to partner with the EU to expand digital infrastructure in Africa’s
largest economy.
She said the financing package includes technical
cooperation aimed at attracting private capital while ensuring secure,
inclusive, and sustainable connectivity across the country.
“We are proud to join forces with the EU to advance the
deployment of digital infrastructure in Nigeria,” she said.
On his part, Bosun Tijani, minister of communications,
innovation, and digital economy, described the agreement as a major milestone
in delivering project BRIDGE on schedule.
He said Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda depends on
the availability of robust, resilient, and inclusive broadband infrastructure.
Tijani said the partnership reflects growing international
confidence in Nigeria’s digital roadmap.
“We look forward to ensuring that 2026 will be a year of
delivery on this and other areas of cooperation with the EU,” he said.
Also speaking, Gautier Mignot, the EU ambassador to Nigeria,
said high-integrity digital infrastructure built to international standards is
strategically important for both Nigeria and the EU.
“Digital has emerged as one of the strategic areas of
partnership between Nigeria and the EU,” Mignot said.
“Both Nigeria and the European Union share the critical
importance of trusted and resilient networks, with the highest level of
integrity and reliability, operating at the highest international standards.”
The EU ambassador also said Nigeria is fast becoming a
formidable digital partner globally.
EU GRANT STRUCTURED TO COMPLEMENT SOVEREIGN LOANS
“The €22 million EU grant is structured to complement
sovereign loans expected not only from the EBRD but also from the World Bank
and the African Development Bank (AfDB),” the statement reads.
“The combined financing will support the establishment and
capitalisation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) responsible for rolling out
90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic networks nationwide under Project BRIDGE.
“The SPV will have 51 percent private sector participation,
aligning with the government’s objective of crowding in private investment.
“The EBRD’s €86 million (approximately $100 million) loan
agreement will include strict conditions on cybersecurity safeguards and
open-access compliance to ensure that the network operates under
internationally recognised standards of transparency, security and
competition.”
The EU also said the grant integrates both technical
assistance and an investment component to accelerate implementation.
“The technical assistance package will fund Low-Level Design
(LLD) work for approximately 40,000 kilometres of the fibre network in the
first phase,” the EU said.
“This includes route mapping, crossing surveys, digitised
planning, quality assurance processes and security risk assessments.
“The objective is to deliver a ready-to-deploy blueprint
that allows construction to begin immediately once the SPV is fully established
and financing agreements are concluded.”
The EU said the funding will also support capacity building
within Nigeria’s fibre deployment ecosystem.
“Plans include training 2,000 technicians, offering targeted
equipment subsidies, and enabling small subcontractors to access pooled
procurement arrangements and volume discounts,” it said.
According to the statement, these measures could reduce
rollout costs by between 20 percent and 30 per cent, while strengthening
supply-chain resilience and ensuring compliance with both EU and Nigerian
quality benchmarks.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com