The Federal Government on Tuesday approved a special purpose vehicle to support the delivery of an additional 90,000km of fibre optic cable for universal access to the internet across Nigeria.
An SPV is a separate legal entity created to achieve a specific goal or project. In this context, the SPV will manage the fibre optics project, overseeing its implementation, finances, and operations.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said in a statement Tuesday that the project would strengthen the national backbone for internet access and optimise the use of eight submarine cables already landed in Nigeria.
The project, he said, was expected to increase Nigeria’s fibre optic cable capacity from 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 km, making it Africa’s third-longest terrestrial fibre optic backbone behind South Africa and Egypt.
Tijani noted that the ministry had, over the last few months, began the groundwork to set up the SPV, which would be modelled in governance and operations similar to some of the best public-private partnership setups in Nigeria, such as NIBSS and NLNG. The minister explained, “This extensive coverage will enable us to optimise the unique benefit of having eight submarine cables already landed in Nigeria.”
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