Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has said Nigeria is already receiving investors’ interest in its proposed $2 billion fund for laying fibre infrastructure across the country.
Tijani disclosed this, yesterday, on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The minister had, last December, declared that the country would require between $1.5 billion and $2 billion investment to lay fibre optic cables across the country.
He said Nigeria needed to deploy around 95,000 kilometres of cable in addition to the 35,000 kilometres already deployed to ensure complete coverage of the country.
With all efforts charged towards ensuring the success of the project, Tijani said it would be one of his biggest achievements as a minister when completed.
He said: “So we’re working hard to put it (the fund) together and we are extremely excited about the interest that we are getting. This is about infrastructure, so many people want to be part of it. And what we’re thinking is that the government is not going to pay for it, but the government will guarantee the loan for private companies to actualise it because if the government funds it then we have not achieved our objective.”
The Minister noted that many operators are not willing to lay fibre in many parts of the countries outside the major cities because it would be unprofitable.
To address challenges faced in broadband rollout in the country, especially around right of way (RoW) and return on investment (ROI), the minister has set up a National Broadband Alliance for Nigeria (NBAN) to stimulate adoption and consumption in key public institutions, bridge RoW challenges and guarantee RoI.
