NAIROBI, Kenya — The national government has assumed responsibility for several critical infrastructure projects in Nairobi, including water and sewerage, roads, bridges, drainage, housing, street lighting, and Nairobi River regeneration, President William Ruto announced on Tuesday.
Speaking during a briefing on the city’s infrastructure development, President Ruto emphasized that there is no transfer of governance functions from the county, and he has no interest in running Nairobi. Instead, the move focuses on cooperating to fully modernize and expand key services.
A major component of the plan is street lighting, where Nairobi currently has around 70,000 lighting points, of which only 21,000, roughly 30 percent, are fully functional.
The government is committing Sh3.7 billion towards modernizing the city’s lighting system, installing an additional 40,000 lighting points, and progressively transitioning to solar-powered solutions.
“I’ve given very clear instructions to the people concerned,” the President said.
“Construction of new roads will now include lighting by design, so that the road is not complete until it is lit.”
President Ruto framed the cooperation as a necessary step to ensure that Nairobi is fully lit, safe, and functional, while also addressing long-standing infrastructure gaps. He noted that the Cooperation Agreement to support these projects is 14 years overdue.
“This is about closing the financing gap fully,” he said, stressing that the government’s role is to support the city, not take over its administration.
The plan also includes upgrades to water and sewerage systems, bridges, drainage, housing, and the Nairobi River, highlighting the national government’s commitment to improving urban infrastructure in Kenya’s capital.
