Kenya’s power utility company Kenya Power has started upgrading of street lights in the CBD, in a project that will see 4,200 street lights upgraded to help improve and transform the city into a 24-hour economy and save on the costs of energy. Kenya Power managing director Ben Chumo has said that the company has put in place teams to fast track the street light rehabilitation project.
The project will entail improving the lights from the present high pressure sodium (yellow lights) to light-emitting diodes (LED); this initiative will definitely see the city’s economy move to the next level by being fully operational all night and day.
“Business transactions are restricted to daytime hours due to poor lighting at night but the government’s objective is to facilitate provision of sustainable, efficient and effective public lighting. We have mobilized technical teams to fast track the rehabilitation of Street light within the CBD,” Dr. Ben Chumo said.
Currently, the team undertaking the project has managed to improve the lighting on 275 streets in the city. In just about ten days, they effectively managed to set up the upgraded street lights on Ngong Road, Westlands through Milimani and Hulighurm.
Other counties will also gain from a similar street lighting project but that will only apply after Nairobi is fully equipped and upgraded as it was selected to be the first beneficiary since it is the capital city and also because most business transactions take place there.
Kenya Power, which recently received a boost from the World Bank through a loan of US$458m, is also out to upgrade electricity supply in the country. The national grid should support government’s target of supplying 5, 000 mw of power by 2017.
