The State Transport Company (STC), express Services, Ecowas Express Company and GPRTU buses are in the muicipality. Air Service is available via the Paga Airstrip, in the Kassena / Nankani District, just four kilometres to the North West of Bolgatanga District. An area has been acquired in the Sumbrungu sub-district for the construction of an airport.

Bolgatanga has a post office, equipped with telephone, fax, telegraphic, e-mail and EMS facilites. There are also private communication centres. The town has a digital telephone system. Only four major communities, including Bolgatanga Township, are at the moment connected to the national electricity grid.

However, there are efforts underway to extend electricity to five communities and other major towns. Pipe-borne water is restricted to Bolgatanga Township and even then, only four percent (4%) of the population is thoroughly served. All other settlements depend on boreholes, hand-dug and shallow wells, steams and ponds.

As at the end of 1998, there were about 366 boreholes and hand-dug wells throughout the district. Small town water supply systems based on the community water scheme and mechanized boreholes are being constructed at Nangodi and Kongo. There are six branches of national banks in the distirt. These are Ghana commercial Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, SSB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and National Investment Bank.

There is also Nara Rural Bank. Other financial institutions are the State Insurance Company, Social Security and National Insurance Trust and Credit Union. Bolgatanga has a big market, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation. The Bolgatanga District Assembly is on its own putting up a new market to serve as a weekly market in another part of the town. Four other markets have either been completed or are nearing completion.

The district has 64 Nursery Schools, 81 Pirmary Schools, 44 Junior Secondary Schools and 6 Second Cycle Institutions including an All-girls Senior Secondary School and a Technical Institute. A Polytechnic will become operational in Bolgatanga from September, 2000.

The health facilties in Bolgatanga include a Regional Hopsital, a health centre, foru clinics run by private investors and Non-Governmental Organisations, and a Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre. There are also four health centres and six clinics in other parts of the district. Altogether, the district has 14 doctors and 208 nurses.

Road Transportation

The municipality depends solely on road transport to link up with the other parts of the country.  Bolgatanga town, the capital of the Upper East Region is about 820kms from Accra, 540kms and 160kms from Kumasi and Tamale respectively.    Bolgatanga is the pivot of road transportation in the Upper East Region with all the three major roads to the other districts radiating from it. Four long-distance bus companies apart from the GPRTU operate to and from Bolgatanga.  These are Vanef-STC Ltd, Imperial Transport, Metro Bus and O&A travel.

Feeder Roads 

The following table shows the state of feeder roads in the municipality. Generally most the feeder roads are in good condition. That not withstanding more needs to be done to open up most of the rural areas to the urban center. One major problem with the state of the feeder roads is erosion. A lot of money is used on re-shaping and routine maintenance works annually on many of these roads which have earth (clay) surface instead of gravelling them gradually.

Urban Roads

Bolgatanga Township has 17.4 Kms of roads.  These include section of the Bolga-Tamale and Bolga-Bawku roads. The commercial and other roads and streets in the town center are not only narrow, but also lack parking space and road signs. Roads in the suburbs such as Pobaga, Estates, SSNIT Workers’ Flats and parts of the Soe Residential Area are in very bad condition.

Another problem about the township roads is that most of them have no drains or they are broken or choked where they exist.  The state of most of the existing roads outside the Central Business Centre is poor with other parts lacking access roads. There is only one functional traffic light in the town. Efforts are under way to provide additional ones in the Bolgatanga Township. 

There exists the Department of Urban Roads (DUR) in the municipality. It is helping in the upgrading of the town roads. In spite of its efforts more still needs to be done.

Air Transport

The existing airstrip serving the municipality is located at Paga (in the Kassena-Nankani District) 40kms, to the northwest. There are plans to complete the construction of the new airport; located 3.5 kms off the Bolga-Navrongo road near, Sumbrungu.

Sources of Energy
Petroleum Products

Bolgatanga town has five filling stations, which retail fuel and lubricants. The Bulk Oil supply and Transport Company (BOST), has a depot at Bolgatanga, which serves the main source of fuel and LPG for the municipality and the region.

Electricity Supply

Until 2001 only Bolgatanga Township, and parts of Zuarungu, and Sumbrungu, enjoyed electricity from the national grid. Through the Self-Help Electrification Project (SHEP III) and the Support Towards Providing Electrification in the UER funded by a Spanish Government loan facility, the total number of towns/villages enjoying electricity has increased. In spite of the extension of electricity to the rural areas, most households still use the kerosene-fuelled hurricane lamp.  This is due to the fact that they cannot afford the payment of the tariff.

Postal Services

The Bolgatanga Post Office houses the regional offices of Ghana Post.  It offers all postal services – sale of stamps, postal and money orders, EMS, rental box and private mailbag services. The number of rental boxes now has increased significantly over time

Telecommunications

Ghana Telecommunication has its regional headquarters in the Bolgatanga Post office block. The company offers telephone, telegram, and mobile, fax and telex services both at the domestic and international levels. The other mobile service providers include, Areeba and Tigo.  Apart from these mobile phone service providers, there are 63 private communication centers, which offer telephone services with a few of them having fax services. Some NGOs and private companies offer E-Mail and Internet services.