Electricity and Gas

The district has partial electricity supply. At Turbat the electricity supply is regular for 24 hours a day while in Buleda, where local power generation is arranged, it is provided for only 7 hours a day. Turbat is directly connected to the Pasni power generation plant, which is capable of producing 17 megawatt (MW) of electricity. In Buleda, power generation capacity is 200 kilowatt (kW).

At present electricity has been provided to 8,627 consumers out of which 6,723 are domestic connections, 1,820 commercial, and 26 connections are heavy load connections. Only 58 three-phase connections are given to run private tube wells. 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. However, still the revenue realisation is not more than 50 percent. Government departments and organisations are not regular in payment of bills, as they pay whenever they have the amount available in their budget.

The total estimated requirement of the area is 9 megawatts of electricity. After Turbat and Buleda, Hoshab will be the third locality to get electrified. A high tension 132 kV transmission line from Turbat to Hoshab and a 132 kV grid station at Hoshab are under construction. After completion of this work Hoshab will be connected to Pasni power station, via Turbat. The pace of construction work is slow due to delayed release of funds from the Government of Balochistan, that is funding the whole project.

Kech does not have access to gas pipeline supply, however liquid petroleum gas (LPG) is available in cylinders for cooking. It is supplied by the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Wakgas through their agencies in the district. Some proportion of gas cylinders is illegally imported from Iran. One cylinder of 10-11 kg of LPG supplied by Pakistani companies costs 330 rupees while an Iranian cylinder of 7-8 kg costs 250 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, 6 agencies of SSGC and 2 of Wakgas sell more than 6,000 cylinders every 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 Kech. One stated reason is that fare of one truck load is 1,400-1,500 rupees while SSGC issues a limited quantity of cylinders. In this way the price per cylinder increases to 330 rupees.

Rest Houses

In Kech district, there are 6 rest houses managed by various departments. According to the provided information, the Irrigation and Power Department, Pakistan Postal Services Corporation, Building and Roads Division and the District Council own one rest house each.

Most of the economic infrastructure and communications are developed and managed by government, either federal or provincial. Private sector is involved in transport and banking only. Control of all these sectors by government creates a non-competitive atmosphere which ultimately hampers socio-economic development. One example is of banks; all the public sector banks are far behind the private sector banks, whether it is the client service or it is the recovery of loans.

Conclusion and major Development Issues

Kech is connected to other cities by road and air, though length of black top roads is only 50.6 kilometres. Development of any area is hard to perceive without roads, therefore it is imperative to construct more metalled roads and link farms to markets by more shingle roads. Lack of roads affect men’s and women’s access to resources even further. The problems of transport affect women more as it further hinders their mobility Access to education and health also becomes more difficult.

Presently, the district is out-ranged for Ptv transmission. Human resource mobilisation can only be made possible through education, awareness and communication (EAC), of which television is an effective medium. Though politically it is true that a state run medium can promote the government perspective only, Ptv can still play a very positive role in change of attitudes, like on family planning, through persuasive communication. Therefore, after the construction of a television booster station at Turbat it is hoped that the people will have access to the Ptv transmission.

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 ADBP demands a broader mandate to serve the agriculture based economy of the district. Similarly, the Regional Development Finance Corporation should play its actual role of rural development through financing. Credit facilities are not available for women, for home industry in handicrafts or for kitchen-gardening, livestock and poultry raising. It is important that loans are given to women for their economic uplift and to bring them into the mainstream of economic development.

Electricity is the most demanded facility, either to illuminate home or to run a tubewell to irrigate a field. One probable reason behind the slower pace of manufacturing activities in the district is unavailability of a power source. However it is hoped that electricity provision to Kech district through Pasni or the national grid will remove this big hurdle on the road to development.