DHA Valley update: Possession of homes, relocation of certain blocks expected

DHA Valley Islamabad is one of the most controversial real estate projects in the history of the federal capital. Almost 15 years after the project’s initiation, there has hardly been any development work. The project faces a number of problems – the absence of direct and decent road access, litigation over land, several of its blocks falling in the poundage area of a proposed dam, and the pending status of DHA Homes.

All of this, combined with a lack of a reliable source of information, has shattered the confidence of DHA Valley investors, many of who are still unclear about who to blame for the project’s delay.

The key issue that hindered the development of DHA Valley is that some of its land has been marked as the proposed site of Dadocha Dam, a reservoir that will help meet the needs of the water-stressed Rawalpindi. This particular area is best suited for the dam as it is naturally deep, which means comparatively low construction costs. After a decision by the Supreme Court, the Punjab government has invited tenders to survey the site to prepare a feasibility report for Dadodcha Dam. The process might take about two years to complete.

A chunk of Bluebell, the most expensive and developed of all DHA Valley blocks, is located in the land that is now officially part of Dadocha Dam. The other blocks that are affected by this decision are Tulip Block, Rose Block and a small part of  Sunflower Block.

The development in construction of Dadocha Dam is nonetheless a positive sign, as water shortage is increasingly becoming a matter of major concern for the large number of people living in Rawalpindi.

There do of course exist issues when it comes to the initiation of a project as important as this dam, where our conventional way of approaching and fixing matters takes several years of planning followed by a painfully long construction period. I personally believe that the construction of Dadocha Dam should be initiated on priority basis so that the affectees of DHA Valley can see that they didn’t bear the pain of project’s delay for nothing.

What should be done now?

DHA Valley has been a long term project and, unfortunately, it still is. Those who own a plot in the blocks affected by the dam site don’t need to worry at all, as this would mean nothing more than relocation of their property.

It should be noted that possession of property in these blocks wasn’t planned in the near future anyway, since this block lacks direct road access. In other words, investors have lost nothing.

DHA has a lot of land available in the vicinity of DHA Valley and the affected blocks will be relocated, which of course means a further delay.

Possession for DHA Homes by the end of this year?

News regarding the expected handover of DHA Homes’ possession has been circulating in the market for a while now. DHA, however, hasn’t announced it officially, but the good thing is that it hasn’t denied it either. Our sources too confirm that possession of some homes will be offered by the end of this year.

There are certain facts that should, however, be kept in mind.

1. DHA Homes has no gas
2. There isn’t a smooth road access to DHA Homes
3. Security is another issue that residents of DHA Homes might have to deal with

Possible effects of DHA Homes’ possession

As and when the possession of DHA Homes is offered, there will be some activity in the market. Considering the above mentioned points, this activity will only benefit the short term investors, who can sell their property at the right time by staying in close touch with the market. If you lack such resources, I recommend you stay out of it.

Short term investment tips

For short term investors, the good blocks could be Jasmine, Oleander, Lilly and Daffodils. As said before, this investment will be good only for short term.

It is also expected that the possession of DHA Homes also calls for development of a decent entrance from Kallar Syedan or Shah Bagh. If that happens, the aforementioned blocks will not just become more valuable, but also somewhat ready to receive property possession. In that case, you have to wait and look at how the surroundings of DHA Valley respond to an announcement of DHA Homes’ possession.