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From left: PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards and Events Managing Director Jules Kay, Paramount Realty Director/CEO and Chairperson of the Judges Dr. Nirmal De Silva, RIU Real-Estate Intelligence Unit Founding Director/CEO and member of the Judging Panel Roshan Madawela, NH & Co. Managing Partner and RNH Group of Companies – HLB Sri Lanka CEO/Director Dinuk Hettiarachchi, and Maga Engineering Director Finance and Planning Mega Kularathne
The highly awaited PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Sri Lanka) program has officially returned, with the fourth annual edition of the island nation’s most prestigious real estate awards kicking off with a virtual media roundtable yesterday, graced by real estate companies, market experts and thought leaders from Asia and beyond.
Paramount Realty Director/CEO and PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Sri Lanka) Chairperson Dr. Nirmal De Silva, joined PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards and Events Managing Director Jules Kay, to discuss the significance of the awards program’s return as Sri Lanka sets eyes on the road to recovery.
“The number of projects we track, which has seen positive momentum, and the number of new sales happening every month, are signs that things are moving in the right direction,” Dr. de Silva told PropertyGuru Property Report, the official magazine of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards.
The online event was joined by member of the independent judging panel Roshan Madawela, who is also the founding director and CEO of Research Intelligence Unit (RIU). Madawela gave data-backed observations about the impact of COVID-19 on the property sector and presented best practices on coping with the health crisis.
HLB Sri Lanka, represented by Nihal Hettiarachchi & Company, this year joins the fourth PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Sri Lanka) as Official Supervisor, maintaining the program’s reputation for fairness, transparency and credibility. Nihal Hettiarachchi & Company Managing Partner and RNH Group of Companies Director/CEO Dinuk Hettiarachchi, spoke at the roundtable on behalf of the international accounting and advisory firm.
Maga Engineering, a past recipient of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, also partook in the virtual event, to deliver insights on the property market and attest to the professionalism and far-reaching impact of the awards programme. Maga Engineering Director of Finance and Planning Mega Kularatne, and recipient of the Special Recognition in Sustainable Development in 2018, weighed in on the post-outbreak demand for offices and commercial spaces and the sustainability of building practices.
Property developers and designers who want to join the elite ranks of awardees may cast their official entries before 24 September at AsiaPropertyAwards.com/nominations. Nominations from the public are encouraged.
Shortlisted nominees will compete in a diverse roster of categories this year, including the never-before-presented honours of Best Sustainable Developer, Best Breakthrough Developer, Best Lifestyle Developer, Best Commercial Developer, Best Hospitality Developer, Best Industrial Developer, and Best Mixed-Use Developer. In addition, the Awards have also opened categories for Best Residential Development (Maldives) and Best Residential Development (Malé), the latter celebrating the finest in the small archipelago’s capital.
Winners and highly commended developers and projects will be honoured together with other country awardees at the virtual gala event and ceremony on 9 December. The event will premiere on the same day on AsiaPropertyAwards.com/tv-podcast and the official channels on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
For the first time ever, highlights of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards will air on the History Channel, the official cable TV partner, putting the island’s finest in front of a truly global audience, including consumers and property agents.
Country winners in top categories from the Sri Lanka event will have a chance to compete regionally at the 16th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final. Elevating the region’s most outstanding developers and projects to the title of ‘Best in Asia,’ the Grand Final will also be held as a virtual gala event and awards ceremony on 9 December. The 2021 edition of the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit, the tech and thought leadership platform of PropertyGuru Group, will precede the gala event and Grand Final as part of this year’s PropertyGuru Week.
Hailed as the ‘Gold Standard’ in the region’s real estate industry, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards series began in 2005 and has grown over the years in terms of coverage and technology. In 2020, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards online gala series, which included the first virtual gala edition of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final, was viewed more than 516,000 times and reached viewers and property investors in more than 75 countries worldwide. The 2020 awards series also included the first edition of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (India), marking the programme’s continued expansion through South Asia.
At the 14th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final, The One Transworks Square Ltd. won the coveted Best Mixed-Use Development (Asia) title for its record-breaking skyscraper project, The One.
Organised by Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company, PropertyGuru Group, the fourth PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Sri Lanka) program is supported by the industry’s leading brands, including official cable TV partner History Channel, official newspaper Daily FT, official magazine PropertyGuru Property Report, official PR partner PR Wire Consultancy, official charity partner Right To Play, official ESG partner Baan Dek Foundation, supporting association Ceylon Institute of Builders, and official supervisor HLB Sri Lanka.