The World Bank has pledged continued support to the 90,000k fibre-optic cable project being laid across Nigeria.
Anshula Kant, the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, who made the pledge in Abuja on Wednesday during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, said that the bank was willing to support Nigeria’s efforts to improve its telecommunication services.
Kant said that the World Bank was also supportive of Nigeria’s macroeconomic reforms being implemented under President Tinubu’s leadership.
“One of the biggest forthcoming projects we are partnering on is in the digital space, providing broadband access across the country.
“I congratulate the President for embarking on such ambitious macroeconomic reforms and staying the course. These are not easy, but there are already showing strong results,” Kant said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, who was also at the meeting, described the fibre optic cable initiative as one of the largest of its kind globally.
He said that the funding of the fibre optic project was structured through sustainable and commercially viable financing model.
“It is self-financing and structured to ensure the users of the infrastructure will pay for its services, making it highly viable,” he said.
The minister commended the World Bank for supporting the project.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Economy, said that the fibre project would cross across the country to connect every home, office, school and hospital with access to fibre-based broadband.
“We’re laying 90,000km of fibre across Nigeria with rings across geopolitical zones and full state coverage. It is about solving connectivity once and for all,” he said.
The minister said that the project was being implemented through a special purpose vehicle with funding support from the World Bank and private investors.