Accra, July 23, GNA - Twenty-three companies and individuals in the property, building and allied industries last Friday took away various prizes at the Ghana property Awards 2009 held in Accra. Regimanuel-Gray Estates, real estate developers, scooped the three topmost awards, namely Property Personality, Residential Developer and Recognition Awards at this year's Awards.

The event, which was under the theme: "Creating a Sustainable Income in Today's Environmental and Maintenance Cultured Property Industry", was organized by Property Express and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) in collaboration with Haier Thermocool and other stakeholders.

Mr Emmanuel Botchwey, Executive Chairman of Emmanuel-Gray Estates, took away the Property Personality of the Year Award while the company snatched the Residential Developer and Recognition Awards. A citation accompanying Mr Botchwey's award went thus: "This award goes to Mr Emmanuel Botchwey, Regimanuel-Gray Estates Limited, who has made a significant contribution to enhance the image of the property industry".

The company's citation read: "This award goes to Regimanuel-Gray Limited as the outstanding builder with quality architectural residential design and the best building envelope in Ghana".

The Property Security Company of the Year went to G4S Security Company as the "outstanding home and commercial property security company with outstanding skills utilized innovatively to enhance and protect homes and property".

Broll Ghana Limited won the Facilities Management and Maintenance Award, with the Paint Firm of the Year going to Ezzy Paints. The others were: Marina Mall, Best Original Design Concept; Akuaba Limited, Furniture Company of the Year; Akuffo and Associates; Architectural Firm of the Year, and SD Property Solutions, Property Agency Team.

Mr Seth Adu of Devtraco Limited took away the Property Entrepreneur of the Year Award, while PS Global and Emefs took the Innovator and African Property Achievement Awards respectively.

The Occupier of the Year Award went to Zain Communications, with the Regeneration Award going to Damaz Construction Limited. The rest were Y Kumey, Deal of the Year; Koans Building Solutions Limited, Property Company of the Year; Chase Properties, Up and Coming Property Firm; HFC Bank, Property Funding Partner; Hydraform, Property Technology Company; and DWA, Property Inputs Provider of the Year Award. The only Regional Award went to Gediomania Limited, Kumasi. Mr Robert Atta-Wegbe, Chief Executive Officer of Property Express Ghana, told GNA that the year was proving to be a very difficult one for many in the property community, especially in the wake of the global financial crisis.

However, he said "the Awards provided stakeholders in the commercial and property market with the perfect platform to network and showcase their companies to a highly targeted audience of company and property directors".

He, however, deplored the low patronage by many companies who either failed to submit entries or provide video clips of their companies.

He stressed that the Ghana Property Awards, which are organized annually, provided real value to developers, service providers and retail buyers and many regarded it as a high quality project. "The focus of this year was on financial sustainability of a project to the buyer and, more importantly, on whether maintenance can be made from a venture.

"The Awards was also to assess what benefits projects reap for the surrounding community using integration of people and settlement ease as assessment criteria.

"It also looked at environmentally friendly factors which are becoming more important criteria for both local and international awards and public awareness of 'green' issues." Other issues raised by the event were crime prevention in the communities and ways of combating them.