Habib Bank Plaza

Habib Bank Plaza
حبیب بینک پلازہ
Habib Bank Plaza
Map
General information
TypeBank
LocationKarachi, Pakistan
AddressI. I. Chundrigar Road,
Karachi-75650
CountryPakistan
Coordinates24°50′59″N 67°00′20″E / 24.84972°N 67.00556°E / 24.84972; 67.00556
Construction started1963
Construction stopped1969
Completed1971 [1]
OwnerHabib Bank Ltd (49%), AKFED (51%)
Height
Roof101 m (331 ft)[2]
Technical details
Floor count22[3]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Leo A. Daly

Habib Bank Plaza (Urdu: حبیب بینک پلازا), also known as HBL Plaza, located on I. I. Chundrigar Road in Karachi,[4] Sindh, Pakistan,[5] is the head office of Habib Bank Limited. It was once the tallest building in Asia, a title that hasn't been held by any other building in South Asia, and was one of only three to hold the title outside of East and Southeast Asia, while still under construction between 1963 and 1968. It was also the tallest building in South Asia until 1972, when it was surpassed by Express Towers, in India.[6] It remained the tallest building in Pakistan for four decades until the 29-floor and 116m tall MCB Tower was built, also in Karachi.[7][8]

HBL Plaza was inaugurated to mark the 25th anniversary of the bank,[9] and started its operations on 4 September 1971.[10][11] The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, the official moon-sighting body in Pakistan, has regularly used the building over the years to convene meetings for moon sighting.[12][13] As of 2021, it housed more than 1,770 employees.[11]

  1. ^ "Habib Bank Limited History". Habib Bank Limited. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  2. ^ Baruah, Amit (July 5, 2014). "Express Towers changes hands". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Karachi Skyscraper Diagram - SkyscraperPage.com". skyscraperpage.com.
  4. ^ Khan, Gulraiz (2022-07-17). "PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLES' BUS SERVICE". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  5. ^ "HBL marks 50th anniversary of Karachi's iconic HBL Plaza". Profit by Pakistan Today. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  6. ^ "Express Towers changes hands". The Hindu. July 5, 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Welcome to MCB Bank Limited". Archived from the original on 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  8. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (2016-07-29). "Karachi: What's in a picture?". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  9. ^ "The dawn of advertising in Pakistan (1947-2017)". Dawn. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  10. ^ Asghar, Naveed (2018-05-09). "HBL: enabling dreams". Aurora Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  11. ^ a b "HBL Plaza, Pakistan's 'most iconic building', celebrates 50 years". Business Recorder. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  12. ^ "Moon sighted". Dawn. Associated Press of Pakistan. 29 May 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2017. He said at a committee meeting at Habib Bank Plaza confirmations of moon sighting had been received from Islamabad and Sanghar.
  13. ^ "Moon sighting". Dawn. Associated Press of Pakistan. 24 September 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2017. According to an announcement made here on Tuesday, the meeting will be held an hour before Maghrib prayers at the Habib Bank Plaza.