There is no industrial unit in the district. The sole production unit is a power generation plant at Kahan with a capacity of 50 kV. Commercial activities are limited in Kohlu.

Small enterprise seems hard to develop in Kohlu in the absence of infrastructure. Roads, credit facilities, skilled manpower and technical support are considered basic prerequisites for enterprise development and these all are severely lacking in Kohlu. In view of the widespread livestock farming, milk and meat production and -processing seems a potential cottage industry to be developed. Keeping in view the increasing trend of the farmers towards cotton growing, investment in a cotton ginning factory and cotton-seed oil mill may be viable.

Although there are four vocational training institutions – two carpet weaving, one embroidery and one typing training centre – in the district, there is not a single institute to train the interested youth in various technical trades. There has been hardly any planning regarding skill development and provision of infrastructure, due to lack of interest on the part of the government and of financial resources.

Manufacturing units are almost non-existent in the district. The only manufacturing units in Kohlu are 8 small-scale flour mills. Embroidery work is done by women in their houses and is therefore not accounted for, despite the fact that at times it helps to improve the financial situation in the household.

The exports from Kohlu include primary products as fruits, cotton (unprocessed), tomato, chillies, melons and livestock. The import/export balance remains import oriented as most of the consumable goods are imported from Punjab.

Kohlu is endowed with natural beauty. It is one of the most beautiful parts of Balochistan, but infrastructure for development of tourism is absolutely non-existent. There is only one rest house, with limited accommodation and without necessary facilities, but no hotel to accommodate tourists. The only remarkable site worth seeing is the shrine of Mast Tawakali, a mystical poet of Balochi language.

Women in Kohlu are expert in traditional embroidery work, but for the most part this work is done on women’s dresses for personal use. Only a few women do it for commercial purpose from whom the middlemen buy the work and sell it in the markets of other districts at much higher price than that they pay to the craftswomen. Although at present embroidery is not a commercial activity at large scale, it can be developed as a cottage industry if proper guidance in supplies and marketing is provided to the women.

Carpet weaving is another handicraft of the area which has great potential. The establishment of Carpet Centres for training in carpet weaving is an encouraging initiative.

The Directorate of Small Industries of the Industries Department has established two Carpet Centres – one at Kohlu, the other at Mawand – for providing training to the youth for an export-oriented handicraft.

The only government support available for development of small enterprise and manufacturing is training in carpet weaving and a banking facility, which is at its minimum as there is only one commercial bank in the whole district. Only the private sector is involved in marketing to some extent.

There is no industrial activity in Kohlu. A few manufacturing units and routine commercial activities shape economic life of the district. Imports to the district supersede the exports. In the absence of infrastructure it may not be possible to develop small enterprise. Technical know-how, training for different skills and provision of appropriate physical infrastructure are highly needed to encourage industrial development in Kohlu. Embroidery work is done by women for personal use. Organised efforts may be directed towards development of embroidery work as cottage industry and, consequent, towards the development of women in Kohlu. Carpet weaving can be organised on more commercial basis; training arrangements in this area are a positive sign. These types of training institution are needed in other technical trades as well.

Tourism is minimal, as no facilities are available in the district. The law and order situation might be a discouraging factor as far as development f tourism is concerned.