On March 24, winners of the Cambodia Property Awards 2017 will be announced, accrediting the cream of the crop in property development in Cambodia. All documents and scoring criteria forms have been filled out, and what remains is the official awarding ceremony, according to the panel of judges.

Sorn Seap, founder and director of Key Real Estate Co. Ltd., and the chairman of the awards’ judges, said, “There are nine judges in total. We wish to keep our candidates and winners confidential for now. We will surprise them and the participants in the official ceremony tomorrow evening.”

The Cambodia Property Awards 2017 is the second of its kind in Cambodia, organised by PropertyGuru and industry experts in the Kingdom. He continued, “For the awards this year, we focus on four different categories. One, the best developer. Two, the best development project. Three, the best design. And four, the best of the best.”

Seap said the best developer award refers to a company or investor of the development. The best development award will be given to the development that abides by its slated completion schedule, is creative, and has more than enough factors of convenience for the residents.

The best design award is granted to a company or individual who can create property that is aesthetic and extraordinary, generating peace and serenity for the residents.

“As for the last award, the best of the best,” Seap said, “the judges select the best entry from those who have won the awards.”

Regarding the committee’s selection procedures, Seap explained, “We check to see if all the candidates have followed through with all the criteria presented by the committee and the organisers.”

“The committee went to inspect and evaluate at the sites themselves to see whether the candidates have actually practised according to the documents they submitted to the committee. Afterwards, the committee holds a meeting to evaluate based on their expertise and gives scores to each candidate.”

“I would not say that our work is perfectly fair, but the members of the committee are committed to doing their tasks professionally,” said Seap.

Regardless, the Cambodia Property Awards 2017 will not be attended by authorities or officials from the Ministry of Land Management of Urban Planning and Construction.

Noun Rithy, CEO of Khmer Foundation Appraisal, was of the opinion that the organisers of the awards show should have roped in the cooperation of expert authorities. “At the very least, there should be a representative officer from the Cambodian engineers committee and Cambodian architect committee, because these two institutes specialise in design and construction.”

“I would like to say that besides the Cambodia Property Awards 2017, all developers ought to also compete for recognition and appreciation from their buyers.”

Hoem Seiha, director of research at VTrust Appraisal, a property valuation firm, said, “Generally, an awards ceremony like this is a tremendous encouragement for companies developing properties in Cambodia.

“It pushes them to ensure the quality of their products.”