From Real Estate History
31 December
Historical Urban Disasters
Foundation Stone of Pakistan Steel Mills
On 30 December 1973, a day of exceptional significance in the industrial and urban history of Pakistan, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto laid the foundation stone of Pakistan Steel Mills at Bin Qasim, Steel Town, to the east of Karachi, beyond the then urban limits of the city. This project not only became a symbol of Pakistan’s industrial sovereignty but also led to an immediate and notable rise in land values across the surrounding areas of Karachi. Pakistan Steel Mills was established on approximately eighteen thousand six hundred acres of land near Karachi. Spread across such an extensive area, it was not merely an industrial unit but effectively a city within a city. The scale of this development can be understood by comparing it to Sukkur, the third largest city of Sindh, whose present urban area is approximately seventy five square kilometres. The land occupied by Pakistan Steel Mills was comparable to, and in some assessments larger than, the urban footprint of Sukkur. This vast expanse comprised the main industrial complex of the steel mills, the residential settlement of Steel Town, supporting infrastructure, roads, railway connections, and essential utilities. From a research perspective, it would not be inaccurate to describe Pakistan Steel Mills as one of the most prominent examples of large scale industrial land use undertaken by the state at that time. Its impact extended beyond industrial production to influence national patterns of urban expansion and land utilisation. As a result of this project, extensive coastal and semi agricultural land near Karachi was converted to industrial use. Over thousands of acres, the central steel complex, residential colonies, roads, utilities, and auxiliary infrastructure were developed, giving rise to a fully integrated industrial and urban zone in the Bin Qasim area. In parallel, Steel Town emerged as a planned residential city, designed specifically to accommodate industrial workers and government employees. From the perspective of real estate and urban development, the establishment of Pakistan Steel Mills triggered an extraordinary expansion of Karachi’s urban boundaries. Coastal and underdeveloped land underwent a fundamental transformation, land values increased significantly, and a new urban model emerged based on the interrelationship between port activity, industry, and residential settlement. This project became a defining example of large scale industrial land use by the state in Pakistan. From an archival standpoint, 30 December 1973 stands as the date that permanently reshaped the geographical, urban, and property landscape of Karachi’s eastern coastline. It is preserved as a milestone in the history of industrial real estate development in Pakistan.
Damghan The Deadliest Earthquake in Human History Claiming Two Hundred Thousand Lives
Approximately 1,169 years ago, on 22 December 856 AD, a devastating earthquake struck the city of Damghan and its surrounding areas in the northern region of Qumis in Persia, present day Iran. Contemporary historical accounts and later scholarly records agree that this earthquake ranks among the most destructive natural disasters in human history in terms of both intensity and loss of life. According to historical estimates, the earthquake reached a magnitude of approximately 7.9 on the Richter scale. The death toll is commonly cited at around two hundred thousand people. Although systematic population censuses did not exist in the ninth century, early Islamic and Persian historical sources consistently describe the scale of human loss as extraordinarily high, leaving little doubt about the severity of the catastrophe. At the time, Damghan was an important commercial centre under Abbasid administration and one of the most densely populated cities of ancient Iran. The earthquake caused widespread destruction across the city. Residential quarters, mosques, fortifications, and public buildings collapsed almost entirely, while many nearby settlements disappeared altogether. Historical narratives report that aftershocks continued for several days, deepening fear and instability among the surviving population and compounding the humanitarian crisis. In later centuries, with the emergence of modern historiography and scientific research approximately between 1880 and 1930 AD, scholars undertook systematic efforts to convert dates recorded in the lunar calendar into the Christian calendar using astronomical calculations. Through this process, the date of the Damghan earthquake was established as 22 December 856 AD, a conclusion that is now widely accepted in international academic and scientific records. The Damghan disaster represents more than a natural calamity. It marked a profound turning point in human settlement patterns and construction practices across the region. In the aftermath of the earthquake, greater attention was given to safer locations for habitation. Communities increasingly moved away from unstable mountainous zones toward comparatively secure plains, and the relationship between human settlement and natural risk began to be taken seriously for the first time.
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