A shop has to earn its place on a normal day. Someone has to get to it, find what they’re there for and have a reason to come back. That’s the standard we want our retail space to meet.

We’re building Sultan Tower on Main Jinnah Boulevard beside the FFBL Building. It’s a construction project. The design combines shops and food court with offices and Apartments, so much depends on how those uses could work together.

Key points

• Address Main Jinnah Boulevard in Sector B DHA 2 Islamabad
• Retail 160 shops across four levels
• Other uses Dining space plus 12 corporate offices and 44 apartments
• Earning routes Business profits and future rent alongside possible resale gains
• Current stage Under construction

Why we like this part of DHA 2

DHA Phase 2 is between GT Road and the Islamabad Highway. The developed sectors have families living in them. That’s important to a shop as the people around it have needs that come round week in week out.

A household may need to make a quick purchase in the vicinity one day and then take longer to decide on a gift the next, so there is value in having a retail mix that caters to both types of visit. The same neighbourhood can have room for both the everyday goods and the occasional purchase.

We see the local base as a very real part of the appeal. You’ve got a locality to serve and the surrounding road links give you a route out to the rest of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Staff journeys and deliveries are dependent on those links as well.

There’s already a wider pattern of visits here.

• Shopping and business: Giga Mall brings shopping and dining together with entertainment. The World Trade Centre Islamabad is on GT Road in DHA Phase II.
• Leisure and hospitality: Jacaranda Family Club provides dining and hospitality along with fitness facilities and a cinema. There’s a real reason for people to be in the area other than just making a single purchase.
• The green belts and pedestrian paths form part of the streetscape. DHA’s security arrangements are part of the local environment as well.
• Everyday services: a medical centre and Jamia Masjid Noor support the day to day running of the community.

These sites go some way to explaining DHA 2’s commercial proposition. They’re in an area that people already use for work, for home life and for recreation. That seems to us to be a very good basis on which to build a retail proposition.

The address and the building

Our site is Plot C-4 on Main Jinnah Boulevard in Sector B, adjacent to the FFBL Building and opposite the Mini Oval Cricket Stadium. The tower is proposed to occupy around 6.75 kanals.

Those landmarks make the address far easier to place. If you’re describing a shop to a friend you can just point to the building or the road. That very simple element of familiarity is the key to how a business becomes known.

Our planned frontage is neoclassical with arches and framed windows. Contemporary glazing and a stepped upper section take the design up the tower.

We want the building to have a face that people can recognise. The individual businesses will have their own names and shop fronts. They will also have that address in common.

Inside, the planned atrium and the walkways will link the retail floors visually. The idea is to create a shopping interior where the outlets are part of a bigger space. You can certainly draw the eye with the exterior. The layout has to work in terms of the experience of the visitor once they’ve got through the door.

The shop comes first

Our floor plan has 160 retail units over four levels.

Retail level	Number of shops
Lower ground	27
Ground floor	37
First floor	48
Second floor	48

The number gives you a sense of scale. What each unit delivers to the business will be down to its position and shape.

A clothing retailer may need space to display the goods properly. A service business will probably be more concerned with having a good place to talk. Storage and staff access are important behind the scenes. A large floor area can be useful but the shape of that area will determine how much of it is actually of use.

That’s why we put such weight on the practical layout. Frontage, entrances and passages all have an impact on how a shop presents itself to its customers.

A group of outlets also opens up the prospect of browsing. A customer coming in for one purchase may well stop in another before they go. It all comes down to the mix of the businesses and what they sell. The shops have to have a good reason for people to spend time in them.

Around the retail floors

Our wider design includes dining space, 12 corporate offices and 44 apartments. The different uses will bring different rhythms to the building.

For example a customer coming in for a meal might browse the shop on that same visit. An office worker may well be using a service in the area during the day. A resident may be making regular purchases right in the vicinity.

These are the possible patterns of use as the completed tower becomes occupied. There’s the prospect of shops being part of those routines. The actual trade will of course be down to what businesses do open and who they attract.

The less visible work of a shop

A shop’s front and its day to day operations are the same business. A customer may well only see the display while the staff are going through the stock and getting the space all ready for the next sale. We think the layout should allow for that whole working day.

Our proposal contains these shared facilities.

• Basement parking is planned across two basement levels
• Passenger access Escalators and lifts will connect the floors
• Stock movement A cargo lift is planned to support deliveries

Customer access and delivery routes both affect how a shop works each day.

In our plans, residential arrival is separate from the commercial and service circulation. Security and fire safety are included in the building plans. A person going home and a delivery person serving the shops have very different requirements.

A price needs a clear label

Our  LG1 example gives us a starting point for the value discussion. These figures were checked on 4 November 2026. Prices and availability may change.

Price detail	LG1 example
Area	294.34 square feet
Total asking price	PKR 30,758,530
Approximate price in crore	PKR 3.08 crore
Calculated rate per square foot	PKR 104,500

The rate per sq ft is simply the total listed figure divided by the area. It brings the price and the size onto the same scale, but the figure itself is still LG1’s. Other units can have different terms depending on their frontage and position in the building.

That’s why we call it an asking price. It’s an offer for a particular space.

We think the value of the commercial shops in DHA 2 Islamabad ought to be discussed in terms of actual sales and rents. The completed deals will tell you what the buyers have agreed to pay and the achieved rents will tell you what a business will spend to occupy the space. As the tower comes into use that will provide a far more solid basis for the pricing discussion.

The address and the design are part of the case at the moment. Delivery and the response of the buyers and tenants will of course add to it over time.

Three ways a shop may earn

The revenue streams actually deserve a separate explanation as they generate the money in quite different ways.

Profit from a business

For an owner of a shop, the income comes from the sales of goods and services. The sales become profit after the business expenses have been deducted. The premises themselves enable that to happen through their layout and access. The retailer brings the goods and the service that turn a visit into a sale.

We judge a retail space on how well it enables that business to operate. The customer still needs something to buy and a reason to come back. The building provides the space for that transaction to take place.

Rent from a tenant

An owner can of course lease out a completed shop to a suitable retailer or service provider. The tenant’s interest will obviously be in the premises being suitable for the business and the costs involved.

The lease then dictates the timing of the receipts. There may be a fit out period which will delay the receipt of rent at the outset. The dates of payment and any agreed adjustments will have an impact on what comes next.

A stated rent can look very simple on paper, whereas an empty month or a maintenance bill will have a massive impact on the actual cash that the owner will receive. The building charges that are applicable will also have an effect. That’s why we talk about a tenant and a lease when we’re talking about rental value.

A change in resale value

We’d put the most weight on the building’s use once it’s built as that’s when the prospective buyer can actually see the space and the businesses that are going to be in it.

At Sultan Tower the upside is absolutely linked to delivery and occupier demand. The wider property market at the time of sale will obviously be a factor too.

A resale gain remains possible. Its size will depend on what buyers are prepared to pay for the property then.

Our payment plans

Our commercial shop schedule divides the purchase payments into three stages.

Stage	Payment arrangement
Down payment	30% of the shop price
Installments	60% over three years in 36 monthly or 12 quarterly payments
Possession	Remaining 10%

This spreads acquisition payments over the development period. The actual figures depend on the price and terms of the selected unit.

Purchase payments and future earnings belong to different parts of ownership. The payments buy the space. Future earnings depend on how that space is used after completion.

What we want Sultan Tower to become

We want the shops to have a useful place in this part of DHA 2. That means an address people can find and premises businesses can put to work.

For us, commercial value starts with a shop someone can use well. The location and design are our starting point. Delivery and the businesses that open here will determine how the place develops.

Contact our team to explore Sultan Tower and the current shop offering.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where is Sultan Tower located?

We’re at Plot C-4 on Main Jinnah Boulevard in Sector B DHA 2 Islamabad beside the FFBL Building.

2. How many retail shops are planned?

Our plan includes 160 shops across four levels from the lower ground to the second floor.

3. What earning opportunities do the shops offer?

The possibilities are business profits and future rent alongside resale gains. Results depend on delivery, demand, occupancy and costs.

4. What is the payment plan?

Our published schedule is 30% down with 60% over three years and the remaining 10% on possession.

5. Is Sultan Tower complete?

Construction is underway. Our design combines shopping and dining with offices and homes.