PropertyGuru, Asia’s foremost online property company, has named the final shortlist of nominees for the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Sri Lanka) 2017 across the condominium, residential and commercial categories.
Sri Lanka joins the esteemed PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards series for the first time in its 12-year-history as the programme expands to emerging markets this year to recognise Asia’s finest real estate developers.
Leading the finalists are Home Lands Skyline (Pvt) Ltd and Blue Ocean, scoring three places in the shortlist each. Vertical living specialist Home Lands Skyline collects two shortlists in the condo categories, while Blue Ocean, a part of one of the island’s largest conglomerates, takes two design nods. The two firms are also up for special awards in corporate social responsibility or sustainable development.
Two-time nominees D.P. Jayasinghe's and M/S Widac Commercial Interiors (Pvt) Ltd. both earn citations in the office categories.
According to a recent report by JLL Sri Lanka, the market expects a strong demand for Grade-A office spaces as the local government ramps up infrastructure improvement projects as well as interest from foreign investors rises.
In the residential categories, Capital Trust collects two nominations, while Shangri-La, Grand Capital Residencies, Blue Mountain, and Balmond Studio round up the shortlist with one nod each.
Under the supervision of BDO, the world’s fifth largest auditing and accounting firm, the nine shortlisted Sri Lankan developers and 12 developments were chosen in the last six months by an independent panel of judges comprising six industry experts led by chairman Dr. Nirmal De Silva, co-founder and CEO of Paramount Realty.
De Silva’s colleagues on the judging panel are Stephanie Balendra (Director, SB Realtors (Private) Limited); Roshan Madawela (Director and Founding CEO, Research Intelligence Unit); Emeritus Prof. Chitra Weddikkra (Managing Director, QServe Pte Ltd); Steven Mayes (Managing Director, JLL Sri Lanka); and Sanjana Fernando (CEO, Wolvert Apartments).
Sri Lankan developers will be honoured during the seventh annual gala dinner of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final to be held on Wednesday, November 8, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore.
Domestic winners from Sri Lanka will also compete later that same evening with other Asian markets for regional accolades, including categories for the Best Developer, Best Mixed Use Development and Best Condo Development in Asia.
Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said: "It is important for Sri Lanka to have a detailed and respected awards programme that sets a benchmark for recognising quality real estate in the country.”
Because of the positive reception of local developers for the Sri Lankan tilt, Blackburn said that PropertyGuru has planned to hold a domestic gala dinner and ceremony in 2018 with an expanded awards scheme to include more than 20 categories – up from this year’s 13 – covering various segments to represent the best real estate on the entire island.
The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards 2017 takes place alongside the two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit, a top-level networking conference for C-level executives and industry leaders to discuss the future of Asia’s dynamic property sector to be attended by more than 100 delegates and global speakers.
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