Mobilisation of labour from one location to another is handicapped in the absence of roads. Transportation of goods is also limited. With the construction of roads, towns develop rapidly and prosperity flourishes.

The district Killa Abdullah is well linked by roads, rail and telephone with other parts of the country through Pishin and Quetta. It has 153 km of metalled, and 1,020 km of shingle road. The important linking roads include:

1) Quetta - Yaru - Maizai - Chaman - Kandahar Road (Afghanistan)

2) Killa Abdullah - Gulistan Road

3) Saranan - Gulistan Road

4) Killa Abdullah - Dub Khanozai Road

Killa Abdullah is linked with Quetta by road and from there it is linked with all the provinces by road, rail and air. The Quetta - Chaman road was developed by the British in the late 19th century for strategic reasons.

Road maintenance is the responsibility of the C & W Department, headed by an Executive Engineer at district level. There is a network of SDOs, Overseers and others. The table below shows the roads in the district. It is evident that metalled and shingle roads cover a length of 1,173 km out of that 1,120 km is shingle road, 153 km is metalled road.

The length of the National Highway within the district of Killa Abdullah is 63.2 km. This road was financed by the World Bank under the Income Generating Programme for the Rrefugee Area (IGPRA). This road leads to Afghanistan via Spin Boldak. It is important to note that shingle roads in the district link all villages within the district. Moreover, it also links the district with Pishin, Zhob and Chaghi Districts.

1. Bill of Entry
2. Import Permit
3. Octroi Receipt
4. K.P.T. Receipt
5. Bill of landing

For Pakistani manufactured vehicles.

1. Invoice of the firm.
2. Sale certificate by distributor.

The number of non-registered vehicles and motorcycles is not available. However, due to proximity with the Afghan border, many types of vehicles can be found. This is mainly due to the price difference between smuggled and imported vehicles. Therefore, people prefer to keep unregistered vehicles.

The bus service in district Killa Abdullah is linked with almost all the main towns/ villages. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of passengers per day/ per week. However, the common observation is that the buses are normally overloaded. There are 25 buses going daily from Quetta to Chaman via Killa Abdullah and from Chaman to Quetta.

The total length of the railway line which passes through the district Killa Abdullah is 72 km. There are 5 railway stations :- Maizi - Gulistan - Killa Abdullah - Shella Bagh - Chaman. The train goes up to Chaman on alternate days. The train leaves in the morning from Quetta to Chaman and makes the return trip on the same day. It is worth mentioning that the largest railway tunnel of the sub-continent "Khujak" is located in the district. Its total length is 3.9188 km. Its height above the sea level is 1945 meters.

There is no airport in district Killa Abdullah.

Radio is very popular in villages and remote areas. It provides the cheapest recreational facilities to the people. It is engaged in providing educational programs. The news and other valuable information are broadcasted through radio. It is a big source of entertainment. The programs produced by various stations are mostly in local languages therefore, farmers benefit. There is no data available on the numbers of televisions. The only proxy for the number of T.V. sets could be the T.V license. The trend is not to register oneself as T.V. or radio user.

Telecommunications

There is a very good network of telecommunication in the district. There are many more privately owned public call offices (PCO) than government PCOs. The number of registered private PCOs is 22, but some are doing business without registration. The number of household and commercial telephone connections is 2,254. A large number of people directly or indirectly benefits from these services.

The postal services are very important, because of population growth, rapid industrialization, urbanization and commercialization of the society. The post office not only provides postal services of sending letters but they are also engaged in providing other services like registration and collection of token fees of vehicles and ammunition etc. There are 5 post offices in the district, 4 of which are functioning. The General Post Office (G.P.O) is in Chaman and has links with all other post offices in the district. In remote areas, where it is not possible to open a full fledged post office, arrangements are made with the school teachers to act as part time postmaster. Such arrangements were made at 7 places in the district. The part-time postmasters are paid 550 rupees per month for their services. The postal service network is operational in the district, but it may not be speedy in the case of rural areas. There is no proper courier service available in the district.

There are 8 banks in the district. Five of them are commercial banks: Muslim Commercial Bank (2 branch), Habib Bank Ltd: (2 branches), National Bank of Pakistan (1 branch), United Bank Ltd (1 branch), Allied Bank Ltd (1 branch) and Askari Commercial Bank (1 branch). The National Bank of Pakistan has a courier service and it also acts as a clearance agent for importer and exporters. Its daily turnover is around Rs.10,000,000.

 Electricity is the most important source of energy. Economic growth and power generation always go together. To gauge the economic development of a country the criteria of per capita energy consumption is applied. Electricity is used in many ways. It is used in the agricultural sector to run the tube wells. In the industrial sector it is vital for running the machinery, and for households it facilitates life to a great extent. For households, electricity is not only a source of light, but also a source of fuel. Electricity is not produced locally but is generated at Giddu and Terballa and transmitted via Quetta to Pishin. There are two grid stations in the district , in Killa Abdullah and Gulistan. There is no power plant in the district. There are 14,863 electricity connections; 72 are for the industrial sector, 1,331 are for the agricultural sector, 1,731 are for commercial use and 11,729 are for domestic consumers.

It has been observed that the number of domestic consumers in rural areas is increasing rapidly as compared to the number of industrial and commercial consumers. The agricultural connections (1331) can be taken as tube well connections, because they don’t have any other use. Further, according to the Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan 1994/95 the number of electric tube wells in Pishin (including Killa Abdullah) was 1,633 during 1994/95. The recent figures for the district indicate massive electrification in the area.

There are different sources to produce energy e.g. nuclear, solar, wind, bio-gas, thermal, coal and hydro. However, as mentioned earlier the electricity is generated elsewhere and is transmitted through the national grid system and consumed in the district. The management responsibility of this task lies with the WAPDA. The domestic connections are for the rural households who use electricity for different purposes but mostly for lighting and for using electrical appliances. Commercial use of electricity is made by those persons who are running some kind of business e.g shopkeepers. Industrial connections are given to small industrial units. Agricultural connections are particularly used to operate tube wells, turbines etc. Different rates are charged for the above mentioned categories. Domestic users pay according to their consumption. Incentives are given for limited use, by applying lower rates per unit to a certain maximum. Commercial consumers pay a higher price for using electricity. Industries pay according to the type of machine used, while the agricultural consumers are charged a flat rate depending on the capacity (hp) of the motor used.

According to WAPDA authorities, 80% of the population has been provided with electricity connections. According to official sources 15% of the consumers are willing to pay their bills while 85% are reluctant to pay. Constraints faced by WAPDA in relation to the recovery of bills and to the administration of connections are: 

1. Due to poor administrative ability, WAPDA is unable to deliver and recover its bills in time
2. Most of the consumers are in the habit of using free electricity because in the past they were not forced to pay their bills. Now if WAPDA, with the help of district administration wants to recover unpaid bills, law and order problems arise
3. The payment of accumulated bills becomes very difficult for the consumers

Water and Power Development Authority Organigramme

Rest Houses

 There are two important rest houses in the district. One D.C. rest house is situated in Chaman bazar. The second rest house is under the Directorate of Buildings and Roads. Tourist can stay there. However, the capacity of the rest house is limited with a maximum capacity of 8 guests. There are five hotels/restaurants which provide lodging and boarding facilities. A further 7 hotels are under construction.

The federal government is involved in almost all the major economic infrastructure services, particularly where huge investment is needed. Provincial government also plays a dominant role, particularly in road works. The role of NGOs does not exist in any of the economic infra-structure activities. Local government and international donors are involved in road works. The private sector is also actively involved in the provision of certain economic infra-structural facilities particularly in transport and in the provision of gas cylinders.

 It can be concluded that:

Economic infra-structure promotes economic growth. There are strong, positive linkages between infra-structure facilities and economic development

Roads are indeed roads to development. The provision of others services depends on the availability of roads. The district has a fairly good network of roads, but rural roads are inadequate and require improvements. Traffic pressure has increased during the last decade and the roads are not technically able to sustain that traffic

The number of domestic consumers vis a vis commercial and industrial consumers has increased very rapidly and there is scope for its expansion. The wide fluctuation in the supply of electricity is damaging the transformers.

• The major issue seems to be the gap between demand and supply of electricity, giving rise to the load shedding problem which consequently affects agriculture negatively, particularly in Tehsil Gulistan
• Due to urban development, the demand for economic infra-structure services is increasing. This has been observed particularly in the case of transport. Due to limited seating capacity in the buses people have to sit on the roof of the buses. For women, even sitting inside is an agony
• The rural population is getting more and more access to public utilities. However, when the time for payment comes, they are reluctant to pay for these services.
• The traffic density of the area has increased due to many factors (a/o the influx of Afghan Refugees). The existing roads are unable to sustain the pressure. Therefore, roads need vast improvement.