Kenya Power sets March target to light up city

Corporate News

Kenya Power will install 54,029 new street lights and repair 9,600 more in Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE 

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI, pmutegi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Kenya Power will install 54,029 new street lights and repair 9,600 more that have been dysfunctional for years.
• The power firm has already spent Sh381.2 million from Treasury to complete works along 231 streets in Nairobi and install power supply to 183 masts that previously were not connected to electricity.

Kenya Power is targeting end of March next year to complete an ongoing Sh10 billion Nairobi street lights rehabilitation project.

The joint City Hall and national government project is aimed at making the much touted 24-hour economy a reality in the city.

Kenya Power will install 54,029 new street lights and repair 9,600 more that have been dysfunctional for years.

“There are 420 personnel on the ground doing this project; they are on course to complete the project by the first quarter of next year,” said Ben Chumo, the Kenya Power managing director, in an interview.

The power firm has already spent Sh381.2 million from Treasury to complete works along 231 streets in Nairobi and install power supply to 183 masts that previously were not connected to electricity.

The Treasury has in its supplementary budget asked Parliament to approve a request for Sh1 billion for allocation to the street lighting project.

“Once we are done, streets in Nairobi will be quite different aesthetically,” he said.

The unprecedented street lighting programme covers informal sector zones of Kamukunji, Industrial Area and Gikomba as well as key industrial areas of Baba Dogo and Kariobangi Light Industries.

READ: Kenya Power targets Sh2.4bn revenue from street lights

Streets in the capital’s central business district (CBD), Westlands and neighbourhoods like Eastleigh, Kahawa West, Buruburu and Embakasi neighbourhoods will also be lit up.

Dr Chumo noted that as of December 17, works on 231 streets had been completed while installations on 29 more were ongoing.

“We have already connected most CBD streets including Kirinyaga Road, River Road as well as Tom Mboya Street,” he said.

“Other areas where we have achieved significant progress include Thika Road, Jogoo Road, Kibera, as well as Donholm. If you drive along these streets today you will notice the difference,” he said.

Nairobi, which is home to about four million people, has approximately 24,000 street lights and 7,300 public lighting masts covering 30 per cent of the city, according to Kenya Power.

However, 40 per cent of these street lights (or 9,600 of them) are currently not working. The debate about lighting up Nairobi streets in order to convert the city into a 24-hour economy has been ongoing for many years, but little has been achieved so far.