Economic infrastructure and communication play a vital role in accelerating the pace of development; their advancement is essential for expanding the size of the markets. The construction of roads promotes the development of towns. District Mastung is linked to other parts of the province by three national highways, roads and rail.

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 other staff. The total length of roads is 557 km, divided into 269 km of shingle road and 288 km of metalled road. The total length of the three national highways running through the district is 215 km. The three national highways are: i) Quetta – Kalat – Karachi, ii) Quetta – Nushki – Taftan – Iran, and iii) Quetta – Sibi – Sukkur.

The shingle roads in the district link all villages within the district and their proportion in provincial roads is very high. Most shingle roads are in a bad condition.

Mastung has no separate Vehicle Registration Office, but falls under the office in Quetta. Some vehicles are registered in Khuzdar. The Vehicle Registration System is the same as in other Districts of Balochistan. The procedure for imported vehicles is somewhat different from that of the Pakistani manufactured or assembled vehicles. For imported vehicles, the following documents have to be produced before the authorities: bill of entry, import permit, octroi receipt, K.P.T. receipt, a bill of landing for Pakistani manufactured vehicles, an invoice of the firm, and a sale certificate from the distributor.

The number of non-registered vehicles and motorcycles is not available. However, there are many vehicles smuggled in from Iran, because of the price difference between smuggled and imported vehicles.

The main means of public transport in the district are vans and buses.The district’s bus services links almost all main towns and villages. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of passengers. Buses are normally overloaded. There are 55 vans and 20 buses going daily from Mastung to Quetta, Khuzdar, Nushki, Kalat and Shahdad Kot (Sindh).

The total length of the railway line which passes through the district is 104 km. There are two tracks. The first one, from Quetta to Sibi, is about 24 km and has three railway stations in Mastung: Spezand, Mastung Road and Karidoo. The second track, which was completed in 1905, runs from Quetta to Taftan. This track covers 80 km and has stations in Mastung at Spezand, Wali Khan, Kanak, Sheikh Wasil and Kardigap.

There is no airport in district Mastung.

There is no radio and television station in Mastung district, but almost every household has a radio or tape recorder set. Most of the people listen to programmes from Quetta Station. Radio is very popular in villages and remote areas. It provides the cheapest recreational facilities to the people. Radio is also used to provide educational programs. It is a big source of entertainment and awareness for the public. The programmes produced by various stations are mostly in local languages.

There is no data available on the number of television sets. The only proxy for the number of T.V. sets is the number of issued T.V licenses, but most radio or television owners are not registered. In the urban areas television sets are common and every tenth household has a satellite dish.

The district headquarters Mastung is linked with the nation-wide dialling system. There is a very good network of telecommunication in the district. There are many more privately owned public call offices (PCOs) than government PCOs. The number of registered private PCOs is 2, but some are doing business without registration. The total number of household and commercial telephone connections is 483. Other towns, i.e. Spezand, Kirdagab and Kanak, have an operator telephone system.

Fax facilities are available only in the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

Post offices not only provide postal services of receiving and distributing letters, but they are also engaged in providing other services like registration and collection of token fees of vehicles and ammunition etc. Two type of post offices are functioning in the district: sub-post offices and branch post offices. A sub-post office is a regular and full fledged post office. It has full-time staff, while branch post offices are run by teachers, shop keepers etc. There are 3 sub-post offices, in Mastung, Spezand and Kardigap, and 5 branch post offices, in Pringabad, Wali Khan, Kanak, Sheikh Wasil and Shamsabad. The General Post Office (G.P.O) is in Mastung. 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 5 places in the district. The part-time postmasters are paid 600 rupees per month for their services. The postal service network is operational throughout the district, but it may not be speedy in the rural areas. There is no proper courier service available in the district.

The United Bank and the National Bank have a branch in the district. Their services include the provision of credit for business. The Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (APBP), which provides loans for landowners and farmers for agricultural activities, also has a branch in Mastung. The Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) has launched a small loans scheme for the poor so they can develop economic activities to generate additional income.

Electricity is the most important source of energy and it 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 machines. For households, electricity is not only used for lighting, but also as a source of fuel.

Electricity is not produced locally but is generated at Giddu and Terballa and transmitted to Mastung. There are six grid stations in the district. There are 12,383 electricity connections, supplied by WAPDA. The number of domestic consumers in rural areas is increasing more rapidly, as compared to the number of industrial and commercial consumers. The agricultural connections are all tube well connections. According to the Agricultural Statistics of Balochistan 1994/95 the number of electric tube wells in Mastung was 1,633 in 1994/95.

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 only 15% of the consumers pay their bills. Due to poor administrative ability, WAPDA is unable to deliver and recover its bills in time. Currently, WAPDA tries to recover unpaid bills with the help of the district administration. As the payment of the accumulated bills is very difficult for the consumers, law and order problems have arisen.

Piped gas supply started in early 1996 in Pringabad followed by Mastung. Since 1996, seventeen villages have been provided gas connections. Total number of gas connections up to June, 1997 was 404.

Water and Power Development Authority Organogramme

 There are five rest houses in Mastung district: three in Mastung town, one in Digari and one in Sinjidi. Tourists can stay at the guesthouse of the Directorate of Buildings and Roads. However, the capacity of this rest house is limited with a maximum capacity of eight guests. There are a number of hotels/restaurants along the RCD road, that provide very modest lodging and boarding facilities.

The federal government is involved in almost all the major economic infrastructure services, particularly where huge investment is needed. Provincial government also plays an important role, particularly in road works. With the exception of BRSP providing loans, the role of NGOs does not exist in any of the economic infrastructure activities. Local government and international donors are involved in road works. The private sector is also actively involved in the provision of certain economic infrastructure facilities, particularly in transport and in the provision of gas cylinders.

It can be concluded that economic infrastructure and communication facilities are very poor in the rural areas of the district. The district has a fairly good network of roads, but rural roads are not properly maintained. Traffic pressure has increased during the last decade and the roads are not technically able to sustain that traffic. 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.

 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 number of domestic consumers of electricity vis-a-vis commercial and industrial consumers has increased very rapidly and there is scope for further expansion. The major issue seems to be the gap between demand and supply of electricity, giving rise to the load shedding problem. Further development of gas supply will reduce the need of traditional sources of cooking like wood and as such also help the efforts aiming at protection of the environment.

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