Gwadar, a coastal district of Pakistan, is connected with other parts of the province and the country by air and road. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has daily flights from and to different destinations. Although black top roads are only 58 kilometres long, shingle and earthen roads connect the district to other cities of the country. Buses and pick-ups ply daily for Karachi, Turbat, Khuzdar, and some other towns of the district including Pasni, Jiwani, Ormara, Suntsar, Pishukan, Sur Bandar, and Nigore. These roads are however difficult to travel.

The total length of roads within the district is 983 kilometres out of which only 58 kilometres is metalled (black top). All these roads were constructed and are maintained by the provincial Buildings and Roads (B&R) Division of the Communications and Works (C&W) Department. At present the B&R Division have 4 motor graders, one D7 dozer, one road roller, 2 loaders, and 2 tippers out of which one tipper is out of order. The roads in Gwadar district are well maintained. For the year 1996-97, two PC-1 have been moved; one of rupees 20 million for road maintenance and the other of rupees 3.7 for machinery maintenance. In case the project of a deep sea port gets through, it will result in a good network of roads connecting Gwadar with Karachi, Quetta, and some other towns like Turbat, Awaran, Panjgur, Naushki, Pasni, Ormara, Sonmiani, and Rattodero. Unavailability and sometimes improper utilisation of development budget and a low cost-benefit ratio are two major factors behind this little length of metalled roads.

Unavailability of black top roads in Gwadar district has hampered the transportation and, consequently, small scale fish export to Karachi which can benefit the fishermen. According to the provincial B&R division, total daily traffic count on various roads of the district was 432 only. Due to high maintenance cost of the vehicles, transporters demand for high fare which further affects the costs.

Any exact data on transport in Gwadar district is hard to find as no private motor vehicle owner get his vehicle registered in the district. Only the government vehicles are registered or some vehicles are registered in other districts. At present only 6 cars are registered with the Motor-vehicle Registration Authority out of which 3 are used as taxi. Most of the vehicles are illegally imported from Gulf states via transit trade facility to Afghanistan and are re-imported illegally to Pakistan without paying any duty. These automobiles do not have any documentation, hence, are available for a relatively low price. Same is the case with motorcycles. None of the motorcycles have a registration number. Many of them are illegally imported from Iran. The Department of Excise and Taxation is responsible for registration of automobiles and collection of revenue from the owners but the excise authorities are not paying attention to this issue.

The number of buses plying from and to Gwadar from other parts of the province is limited due to the unavailability of metalled roads. The journey from Gwadar to Karachi takes about 32 hours while it is about 48 hours from Quetta to Gwadar. Daily 2 coaches, from each side, ply between Karachi and Gwadar, one between Quetta and Gwadar, one between Khuzdar and Gwadar, and 2 between Turbat and Gwadar which takes about 5 hours. A few pickups also ply daily between Gwadar and Turbat and to some other destinations within the district.

The district has no railways. However, there are 4 airports (Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, and Jiwani) in the district of which 2 (Gwadar and Pasni) are international airports. The national flag-carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operates 31 domestic and 3 international flights per week to connect all the 4 airports of Gwadar district to Muscat, Sharjah, Karachi, Turbat, Panjgur, Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, and Jiwani. All the cities of Balochistan and towns of Gwadar district are connected to each other by road.

Gwadar district is out of the Pakistan Television’s transmission range. The television owners watch satellite-received television programme. Nobody pays Ptv licence fee, which seems justified as there is no Ptv transmission; therefore no record of the number of television sets is available. However, as per estimate, every fourth household owns a television set and a satellite receiver.

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Pakistan) has one broadcasting station of 0.25 K.W., M.W. at Turbat. This station was inaugurated on January 4, 1981 and daily transmits a programme for about five hours (1800-2310). It broadcasts in Urdu (3 hours) and Balochi (2 hours) while radio stations at Quetta and Khuzdar also transmit a programme in Balochi which can be listened to in Gwadar district. People do not bother to pay radio licence fee, therefore no data are available about total number of radio sets in the district.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has provided a telephone network to many towns and villages of Gwadar district. At present there is only one digital telephone exchange in Gwadar district, i.e., at Pasni with 1,300 lines. There are 3 auto exchanges in the district, with 1500 lines at Gwadar, with 200 lines at Jiwani, and with 400 lines at Ormara. Other exchanges are located at Sur Bandar and Pishukan with 100 lines each, at Kallag and Nalaint with 30 lines each, and at Kalatoo with 50 lines while the telephone exchange at Suntsar has a capacity of 10 connections. The total number of telephone connections in the whole district is 1,855. The PTCL has opened one public call office at Gwadar. Telegraphic and facsimile service, promoted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Company, are also available in the district but internet and e-mail services are not yet available.

Contrary to other government departments, the PTCL staff was satisfied with the revenue collection. There was no complaint about defaulters. Many applications were pending completion of cable networking process.

In Gwadar district, the Pakistan Postal Services Corporation has established one post office at Gwadar; 3 sub post offices at Pasni, Ormara, and Jiwani; and 3 branch post offices at Kalmat, Sur Bandar, and Pishukan. Although not very regular, a door to door delivery mechanism is present and mail is delivered throughout the district. Mail reaches various parts of the district by air as well as by road but delayed delivery of mail is a common complaint. Presently the fax and special mail services have been abandoned due to shortage of staff. The Gwadar Post Office provides saving bank services as well, while 30 post boxes are available at the post office for the public.

The sole courier service (TCS) is available at Gwadar and Pasni only.

In Gwadar district, commercial banking services are provided by Habib Bank Limited (HBL), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), United Bank Limited (UBL), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), and Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB), while Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) provides credit services for the fishermen. A branch of Small Business Finance Corporation is also there to finance small business enterprises. The principal business of the banks in Gwadar is remittance of money which comes from Gulf states; however lending of money from the banks is also common among business community.

The Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan has a mandate to provide loans to fishermen for fishing gears and boats. A pre-appraisal is prepared for lending by a Mobile Credit Officer, who prepares the financial appraisal. After financing, the bank keeps track of its investment and an evaluation of loan utilisation is made. Usually boats and fishing gears are mortgaged and a loan up to 66 percent of their value can be provided on which a 14.5 percent mark-up is charged. Sometimes personal guarantee is also acceptable if the loan demanded is up to 30 thousand rupees. In 1995-96, 11.71 million rupees were issued as loan to the fishermen. In the financial year 1993-94, lending to the fishermen amounted to rupees 14.136 million and in 1994-95 this amount was rupees 36.907 million. Recovery rate has been below 40 percent up to 1996 after which it has increased to about 55 percent as a result of a special recovery campaign by the bank. The bank has appointed 5 Mobile Credit Officers in Gwadar district, 2 at Gwadar, 2 at Pasni, and one at Jiwani for providing credit facilities to the fishermen.

The Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan has introduced many schemes some of which have been abandoned. A total of 14 tractors were provided to the farmers in Gwadar and Pasni at 12 percent interest rate under the Awami Tractor Scheme.

The Small Business Finance Corporation (SBFC) has opened its branch at Gwadar but it is not functional. The main reason behind non-provision of loans to the fishermen is that the corporation requires a land ownership certificate as mortgaging document. Gwadar is an unsettled area and none of the residents have land ownership certificates. The fishermen have their boats, fishing gears, and registration certificate to mortgage but the corporation does not accept these as guarantee. The result is very obvious, that the corporation has not financed a single penny as loan in Gwadar, which was the real purpose of the corporation.

The district was first provided electricity when about 17 Megawatts (MW) of power generation was started with 4 diesel operated generators, each of 4.25 MW capacity, installed at Pasni by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). At present Pasni is generating 12 MW, which is used for regular electricity supply to Pasni town and the surplus electricity, generated at Pasni, is supplied to Turbat. The towns of Gwadar and Jiwani have their own power generation stations to meet the local power needs while all the other towns and villages are without electric supply. The Gwadar power plant started electricity generation with 2 Perkins diesel generators, each of 504 kW capacity, in April 1991. One Caterpillar diesel generator of 560 kW capacity was added in November 1991 while 2 Taiyo diesel operated generators, of 525 kW each, were installed in January 1993 . The most recent addition was installation of 2 Cumins diesel generators having capacity of 200 kW each. Although all the generators at Gwadar are functional, their overhauling is due. All these 7 engines are not operated simultaneously therefore the total power generation remains below 1.5 MW while the total demand is of 2.2 MW. This shortage is compensated by more load shedding. There is no central system for load shedding and the WAPDA personnel have to switch on and off the electricity from transformers.

Many of the government establishments have their own power generators of limited capacity. The fish harbour has 3 diesel power generators, capable of producing 2.25 MW of electricity.

In Gwadar and Jiwani electricity is supplied for 12 hours (from 0930 hours to 1630 hours and from 1830 hours to 2330 hours). However adjustments are made as required by the district administration. Pasni town has continuous electricity supply. At present electricity has been provided to 4,199 consumers in Gwadar district. Gwadar has 1,657 domestic and 486 commercial users; Pasni has 1,393 domestic, 342 commercial, and 7 industrial connections; while Jiwani has 293 domestic and 21 commercial consumers. None of the connections is for agricultural purposes. There has been a problem of non-payment of bills but now WAPDA officials disconnect the transformer in case payment of bills has not been made by the electricity consumers in that area. In this way problem of non-payment have been solved to some extent. Government departments and organisations are not regular in payment of bills as they pay whenever they have funds available in their budget. The overall realisation of the assessed revenue from Gwadar district is about 50 percent.

There is a plan of expansion of the Pasni power station in phase II after which total generating capacity at Pasni will be 44 MW. After this expansion major towns of the district could be connected to Pasni for electric supply. Pasni to Gwadar transmission line and a 132 kV grid station has been approved but work has not yet started due to shortage of funds. Only the boundary wall of the grid station and of few residential quarters have been constructed at Gwadar. The pace of construction work is slow due to delayed release of funds from the Government of Balochistan who is funding the whole project.

Gwadar district does not have access to gas pipeline supply, however liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is available in cylinders for cooking. It is supplied by the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Wakgas, and Burshane Gas through their agencies at Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, and Jiwani. Some proportion of gas cylinders is illegally imported from Iran. One cylinder of 10-11 kg of LPG supplied by Pakistani companies costs 280-300 rupees while an Iranian cylinder of 7-8 kg costs 220-230 rupees. LPG is also available through refilling in smaller cylinders of 2 kg for 70 rupees. Although LPG is a bit costly as compared to the other energy sources, its consumption is increasing. At present, agencies of SSGC, Wakgas, and Burshane Gas sell about four thousand cylinders per month. The consumption of Iranian gas is not measurable as many shops are selling refilled and Iranian cylinders because there is no check on refilling and selling of LPG. The price of LPG is a bit higher in Gwadar district. One stated reason is that the fare of one truck load is 1,500 rupees while SSGC issues a limited quantity of cylinders. In this way price per cylinder increases to 270 rupees. Although Wakgas and Burshane Gas is available in required quantities, the agency holders sell their cylinders at the same price as being received by the SSGC agency holders.

There are 10 rest houses in the district managed by the provincial as well as federal government departments. Six of these rest houses are at Gwadar. All of the rest houses are well furnished and well kept. There is one old Governor House being used as VIP rest house. Gwadar has a good tourist motel at the beach.

Most of the economic infrastructure and communications are developed and managed by government, either federal or provincial. The private sector is involved in transport, hotel, and banking only.

Gwadar district is connected to other cities by road and air. The length of black top roads is only 58 kilometres. Development of any area is hard to be imagined without roads; therefore it is imperative to construct more metalled roads to link coastal towns with Karachi and other major cities of Balochistan. PIA operates flights for Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, and Jewni but travel by air is expensive for the common people. Moreover unavailability of seats in flights is a common complaint despite the fact that often the planes fly half empty.

Presently, the district is out-ranged for Ptv transmission. Human resource mobilisation can only be made possible through education, awareness and communication, for which television is an effective medium. Ptv can play a very positive role in change of attitudes, as with regard to family planning, through persuasive communication.

The district is well linked through telephone and mail, though, delays in mail delivery is a common complaint. Postal services need to be improved. Commercial banks are functioning satisfactorily however the crucial role of the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan demands a broader mandate to serve the fisheries based economy of the district. The lending conditions of Small Business Finance Corporation may be made suitable to finance small manufacturing and businesses, like net making, boat-making, and fish processing.

Electricity is the most demanded facility. One probable reason behind slower pace of manufacturing activities in the district is unavailability of a power source. However it is hoped that electricity provision to Gwadar and other towns from Pasni or through the national grid will remove a major stumbling block to development.

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