Consultants engaged for Nigeria’s ambitious national fibre expansion programme are set to receive a combined $6.1 million in professional fees, according to a procurement document linked to the World Bank-supported broadband initiative.
The payments will cover seven consulting firms and five individual consultants working on Nigeria’s fibre-optic rollout under the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth, BRIDGE, programme, a $2 billion intervention aimed at strengthening the country’s digital backbone and expanding affordable internet access nationwide.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the consultancy contracts span transaction advisory services, legal and regulatory compliance, technical infrastructure planning, environmental and social impact advisory, supply chain strategy, and national capacity development. The scope of engagement reflects the scale and complexity of the fibre project, which seeks to transform Nigeria’s digital infrastructure landscape.
The BRIDGE programme supports the Federal Government’s plan to expand Nigeria’s fibre network from roughly 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 kilometres. The expansion is expected to reduce broadband costs, improve service quality, and extend connectivity to underserved and rural areas where internet access remains limited.
Despite these ambitions, Nigeria fell short of its National Broadband Plan target of 70 per cent penetration by December 2025. Official data shows broadband penetration closed 2025 at about 51 per cent and rose modestly to 53 per cent by January 2026, underscoring the urgency of large-scale infrastructure investment.
Procurement records indicate that the largest consultancy contracts are valued at $1.5 million each. One transaction advisory contract was signed on February 20, 2026, while another, focused on establishing university-led digital economy research clusters, entered procurement in March and remains ongoing. These engagements are expected to shape both the project’s financing structure and its innovation outcomes.
Additional contracts include $750,000 for legal and regulatory advisory services, signed on February 19, 2026, and $850,000 allocated for technical planning and infrastructure advisory, which is still under procurement. Environmental and social advisory services account for another $750,000, while $300,000 has been set aside for supply chain and procurement strategy. A further $150,000 will fund baseline skills assessments and the design of a national digital training programme.
Five individual consultant roles are budgeted at a combined $348,000. While a project coordinator for the BRIDGE implementation unit has already been appointed, some roles, including legal and technical positions, were cancelled, with others still undergoing procurement.
The procurement process, covering July 2025 to December 2026, is being managed through the World Bank’s Systematic Tracking and Exchanges in Procurement, STEP, platform to ensure transparency and compliance with updated procurement standards.
The fibre project has already secured about $1.123 billion in funding commitments. Support includes $500 million from the International Development Association, $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and €22 million from the European Union. Domestically, the Federal Government has approved a $1 billion loan and is seeking at least $1.1 billion from private investors.
An initial $6 million disbursement is expected in 2026 to establish a special purpose vehicle to manage the project, with further funding tied to milestones such as the rollout of the first 5,000 kilometres of fibre and subsequent large-scale expansion phases.
