Building in DHA Phase 6 follows a fixed sequence, and it does not start with a design. It starts with paperwork and a site check. In order: take possession and obtain your site plan from the Transfer & Record office, have the plot demarcated, commission a soil bearing capacity test, appoint an architect and a structural engineer from DHA’s registered lists, prepare the submission drawing set, pay the scrutiny dues, and begin construction only once the approved drawings and inspection chart are issued.
Most avoidable delay in Phase 6 comes from reversing that order — designing a house first, then discovering that the plot levels, road position or soil conditions do not support what was drawn.
DHA Phase 6 is the phase formerly designated DHA Phase 2 Extension. It sits in the GT Road and Islamabad Expressway corridor adjacent to DHA Phase 2, near Bahria Town, Media Town, PWD and CBR Town, with the Soan river corridor along part of its edge. The master plan was prepared by OJRM of Los Angeles, infrastructure delivery has been led by FWO, and the scheme NOC sits with the Rawalpindi Development Authority. At roughly 55,000 kanals it is one of the largest phases in DHA Islamabad–Rawalpindi.
It is also, honestly, not a finished neighbourhood. Sectors A (including A-1 and A-2), B-3, C-1, C-2 and C-3 Extension are the balloted and developed sectors where construction is realistically possible, with possession announcements for several of these made in early 2026. The DHA Expressway link is still progressing. On many streets, yours may be one of the first houses to go up.
That is genuinely good news for design freedom and for price. It also means the site conditions you build against are different from a mature phase, and that difference has to be designed for rather than discovered on site.
Sector Guide
A clean reference table for plot sizes, access conditions, possession status and design considerations before starting architectural planning.
| Sector | Common plot sizes | What it means when you build |
|---|---|---|
| A, A-1, A-2 | 1 Kanal, with smaller categories in parts | Closest to the main entry and expressway access. Street width and plot orientation drive elevation and parking layout — confirm both at demarcation. |
| B-3 | 5 Marla to 1 Kanal | One of the more advanced sectors, with a growing number of possession-ready plots. Boundary confirmation against neighbouring plots matters before the elevation is finalised. |
| C-1 | Largely 1 Kanal | An establishing residential sector with a settled layout. Check street levels and drainage falls before fixing plinth height. |
| C-2 | Largely 1 Kanal | Possession activity in this sector is recent. Expect construction traffic and confirm haulage access on your street. |
| C-3 Extension | Largely 1 Kanal | A balloted, developed segment. Level differences with adjacent unbuilt plots are the main structural planning item. |
| Overseas Sector | Per allotment | Reserved allocation within the redesigned master plan. Confirm current sector status directly with DHA before committing to a design programme. |
| Commercial | 4 Marla and 8 Marla | Designated commercial pockets. Parking provision, floor plate efficiency and rentability drive the brief more than elevation. |
Construction Planning
In a built-out phase, you can read the correct floor level off the houses on either side. In Phase 6 you often cannot, because there are no houses on either side. Plinth level then has to be set from the road crown and the street’s drainage fall, with allowance for future levels on adjacent plots. Get it wrong and you end up with a driveway that ponds in monsoon, or a house that sits visibly low once the neighbours build up.
DHA Islamabad–Rawalpindi requires a bearing capacity report as part of the drawing submission, alongside structural drawings stamped by a registered structural engineer and a structural stability certificate. This is not a formality. Phase 6 covers a large area with varied ground along and away from the Soan corridor, and bearing capacity changes what your foundation costs. A plot needing a raft rather than isolated pad footings carries a materially different structural budget — which is exactly why a per-square-foot rate quoted before the soil report is a guess.
When the plot next door is empty, there is no shared wall to build against and no neighbour to share the cost with. You either build the full wall yourself and settle later, or you sequence the wall around the construction programme. Decide this at BOQ stage, because on a 1 Kanal plot the boundary wall and external works are a meaningful line item, not a rounding error.
Water for curing, power for the site, and a place to store cement and steel securely are all things a mature street provides informally and a new street does not. On early Phase 6 plots, plan for tankered water, a temporary connection or generator provision, and a secured store — and price them in the BOQ rather than absorbing them as “site expenses” later.
Ready-mix delivery, crane or pump access and steel deliveries need a road that is finished, open and wide enough. Some Phase 6 streets are; some are not yet. This is a five-minute check during the site visit that decides whether you pour ready-mix or batch on site, and the two have different cost and quality profiles.
Phase 6 is a longer run from central Islamabad than the older DHA phases. Site visit frequency has to be contractually defined rather than left to goodwill, and for overseas owners it has to be replaced by documented reporting. Weekly photographs, milestone checklists and a written variation record are worth more than a daily phone call to a site contact with no authority.
House construction in DHA Phase 6 is governed by the DHA Islamabad and DHA Rawalpindi Revised Byelaws and Regulations 2022, which replaced the earlier DHA Islamabad–Rawalpindi Building Control Regulations. DHA may amend these regulations, and the requirements are administered through the Town Planning and Building Control directorate. The sequence below reflects the route owners follow in practice.
Approval Roadmap
A step-by-step view of the DHA design approval and construction process, including what happens at each stage and who is responsible.
Apply through the Town Planning section at the Transfer & Record Office with the allotment letter and CNIC; pay the applicable dues and collect the site plan / possession form.
Physical demarcation of the plot on site, with confirmation of dimensions, corners, road position and levels against the site plan.
Bearing capacity report from a testing firm on DHA’s list; this drives the foundation design.
Architect and structural engineer selected from DHA’s registered lists. Drawings prepared by professionals outside these lists create avoidable scrutiny problems.
Concept, 3D elevation, working drawings, structural design on the basis of the soil report, and MEP layouts — coordinated so the sets agree with one another.
Submission drawing sets, A3 structural drawings stamped by the registered structural engineer, structural stability certificate, bearing capacity report, ownership documents, prescribed forms, soft copy and paid dues.
Review by Building Control. Observations are returned for correction; a coordinated file reduces the number of rounds.
Begins after approved drawings and the inspection chart are issued. The chart is signed off by the concerned officer at defined stages during construction.
Completion documentation submitted with approved drawings and site plan to close the file.
Our Scope
You can appoint us for a single service or for the whole project. The scope shown here is what we typically provide; the exact deliverable list is confirmed in writing for each project before work starts.
Site and levels review, client brief, concept planning, 3D elevation, working drawings, structural coordination on the basis of the soil report, MEP layouts, and a coordinated DHA submission package. The objective at this stage is a house that is buildable at your budget and passes scrutiny without repeated redesign.
Structural design by a registered structural engineer working from the actual bearing capacity report rather than an assumed value, and MEP layouts coordinated with the architecture so that services routes, ceiling heights and shaft positions are settled on paper. This is where most on-site improvisation is eliminated.
Space planning, kitchen and wardrobe design, bathroom detailing, ceiling and lighting plans, tile and flooring layouts, material boards, 3D visualisation and execution drawings, with a BOQ. Coordinating interiors with architecture before construction avoids the common Phase 6 outcome of relocating points and cutting into finished slabs.
Pre-construction planning, BOQ, procurement and material approvals, grey structure, MEP first and second fix, finishing, snagging and handover, with defined quality checkpoints and weekly progress reporting. We work on material-plus-labour and defined project arrangements rather than labour-only contracts.
Architecture, approvals, engineering, BOQ and construction under one accountable team. The commercial value is not an automatic discount — it is earlier cost input at design stage, better buildability, fewer coordination gaps between drawings, and one party responsible when a site decision has to be made. It removes the position where the architect and the contractor each blame the other and the owner absorbs the cost.
Send sector + plot size + your style preference. We’ll reply with a quick feasibility note, concept direction, and a clear fee matrix for architecture, interiors, and build (if you want it).
July 2026 Planning Guide
Construction cost is driven by covered area, structural requirements, specification and site conditions — not by plot size alone. These Islamabad–Rawalpindi ranges are intended for early budgeting and may move with steel, cement, labour and finishing prices.
PKR 2,800–3,500+ per sq ft of covered area
Excavation, foundations, RCC frame, blockwork or brickwork, slabs, stairs, plaster, conduiting and concealed plumbing lines. No finishes.
PKR 7,000–8,800+ per sq ft of covered area
Grey structure plus standard finishing, MEP, joinery, sanitary fittings, doors and windows, paint and basic external works.
PKR 10,000–15,000+ per sq ft of covered area
Higher-specification finishes, imported materials, HVAC, smart-home systems, feature elevations, detailed joinery and landscape works.
Phase 6 Cost Variables
Bearing capacity decides whether you need isolated footings, a combined system or a raft. This is the largest variable a per-square-foot rate cannot capture.
Excavation, retaining structure, waterproofing, drainage, ventilation and ramp or stair access should be planned before excavation, not added later.
Where the plot sits above or below the road or adjoining plots, retaining structures and fill become a real construction line item.
These costs are higher on plots with no built neighbours available to share boundary walls or established external levels.
Tankered water, temporary power, material storage and longer delivery runs on developing streets should be priced into the BOQ.
Glazing, kitchens, wardrobes, sanitary, HVAC and smart systems often move the premium-build total more than the structure itself.
For a project-specific figure, the reliable route is concept design, followed by an outline specification and then a BOQ. A rate quoted before the drawings exist is a starting position, not a budget.
For Overseas Owners
A large share of Phase 6 plots are held by owners in the UK, US, Canada, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Remote construction works when decisions, records and accountability are structured — and fails when it depends on informal calls with several people on site.
Named in the contract, with a defined process for approvals when they are unavailable.
Every drawing revision is issued, approved and logged, so nobody builds from a superseded set.
Payments are tied to verified stages rather than calendar dates or verbal progress reports.
Dated site records against a milestone checklist, sent through WhatsApp or email.
Options are presented with specifications and photographs, with samples couriered where the decision warrants it.
Every change is priced and approved before it is built. This is where most overseas budget overruns originate.
Held at concept stage, drawing freeze, grey structure completion and before finishing selections are locked.
Pick your service and talk to an expert in minutes.
Your sector, your plot size, and whether you want a basement. We will come back with an initial feasibility note covering what the plot can realistically support, what the approval path looks like, and a fee structure for design, construction, or both.
Yes, in sectors where possession has been handed over — which currently includes the balloted and developed sectors such as A, B-3, C-1, C-2 and C-3 Extension. Construction can begin only after you hold possession and the site plan, the plot has been demarcated, and DHA has issued approved drawings along with the inspection chart. Sector status changes, so confirm the current position for your specific sector with DHA before committing to a construction programme.
The submission file generally includes the site plan or possession form, allotment or transfer letter, owner’s CNIC, submission drawing sets, structural drawings stamped by a registered structural engineer, a structural stability certificate, a soil bearing capacity report, prescribed forms, a soft copy of the drawings and paid dues. Architects and structural engineers should be selected from DHA’s registered lists. Confirm the current checklist with the Town Planning and Building Control directorate, as requirements are updated periodically.
Yes. A bearing capacity report forms part of the drawing submission in DHA Islamabad–Rawalpindi, and it also determines your foundation design. Phase 6 covers a large area with varying ground conditions, so the report is not a formality — it is what tells your structural engineer whether isolated footings are sufficient or a heavier foundation system is needed. Commissioning it early, before the concept is finalised, is the cheapest sequence.
No. DHA Phase 6 falls under DHA Islamabad and DHA Rawalpindi, which administer their own regulations — currently the DHA Islamabad and DHA Rawalpindi Revised Byelaws and Regulations 2022. Most setback, height and coverage figures found online refer to DHA Lahore and should not be applied to an Islamabad plot. Applicable limits for your plot category should be confirmed with DHA Islamabad–Rawalpindi at concept stage, not at submission.
As at July 2026, planning ranges in Islamabad–Rawalpindi are roughly PKR 2,800–3,500+ per sq ft of covered area for grey structure and PKR 7,000–8,800+ per sq ft for A-category turnkey construction, with premium specifications running higher. Your actual figure depends on covered area, whether you build a basement, foundation type after the soil report, specification level, MEP systems and site conditions. A reliable number comes from concept design and a BOQ, not from a rate quoted before the drawings exist.
Design duration depends on how quickly the brief is settled and how many concept revisions are requested; approval duration depends on DHA’s scrutiny cycle and on how complete and coordinated the submitted file is. The variable most within your control is the drawing freeze — projects that lock the plan before submission move faster than projects that continue changing it. We give a project-specific programme once the brief and plot conditions are confirmed, rather than a headline figure that ignores both.
A basement can be worthwhile, but the decision belongs at concept stage. It depends on plot levels, access and ramp geometry, soil and groundwater conditions, drainage strategy, ventilation and light, intended use, and cost. Waterproofing and rainwater strategy must be designed before excavation begins. A basement added after the structure is planned disrupts foundations, services routes and budget, and is the most common source of mid-project cost escalation we see.
Yes. For suitable projects in Islamabad–Rawalpindi we provide architecture, approvals, engineering, BOQ, construction, interiors and handover under one agreement, with online design reviews, digital drawing approvals, milestone-linked payments, weekly photographic reporting, documented material approvals and a written variation record. You can also appoint us for design only or construction only where drawings are complete. Scope and price are confirmed in writing before work starts.
Send us your sector, plot size and whether you want a basement. We will review what the plot can support, outline the approval path, and give you a clear fee structure for architecture, construction, or Design + Build. If your plot is not ready to build on yet, we will tell you that too.
Avenir Developments is a premier architectural design and construction company in Pakistan, offering integrated interior design and luxury construction services. We specialize in high-end residential homes and commercial projects in Lahore, Islamabad and communities like DHA, Lake City, Bahria Town, CDA and LDA.