Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has today announced that green spaces and parks in Nairobi will soon have streetlights set up alongside free WiFi for use by residents who visit them often.

This was said by NMS Director-General Mohammed Badi who added that this action is part of plans to bring in a smart light system in Nairobi. The public green spaces mainly targeted include Michuki Park, City Park, Central and Uhuru parks, Jevanjee Gardens, Jamhuri Park and Ngong Road forest.

“We have been repairing and replacing streetlights within Nairobi, upgrading them to a smart light system,” said Mr Badi.

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The NMS chief also noted that since he took the four transferred functions in mid-March, the committee has repaired up to 50,000 street lights that are often neglected.

This migration to a smart public lighting system will also have some of the street lights armed with cameras for security purposes. These new structures have also been retrofitted with high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights that consume less energy while still brightening up the city.

The new system will consist of controllers and cloud-based software for real-time management. It involves wireless mesh communication that enables these lighting infrastructures to also become internet hubs.

“We hope that with modern streetlights, we will be able to light up Nairobi city as it should be. This is by having intelligent lighting in the city which will eventually lead to Nairobi being a smart city, where the streetlights and public lights will do much more than just lighting the city,” Badi highlighted.