February 2025
At the prestigious annual International Property Awards ceremony held at the iconic Savoy Hotel in London on 20 February, Waterfall City Management Company walked away with the coveted Best International Masterplan 2024-2025 award for Waterfall City, recognising the innovative, world-class urban design framework of this thriving smart city.
This highest international accolade in the Masterplan category, was preceded by Waterfall City being named Best Masterplan Africa 2024-2025 at the same ceremony. This year, Waterfall City beat formidable competitors from Arabia (Dubai), Central & South America (Mexico) and Europe (Malta) to claim the World’s Best spot.
With five Best International Mixed-use Development awards under its belt, this is the first time that Waterfall City has entered the Masterplan category, specially created in 2024, by the International Property Awards association for large-scale developments covering a minimum of 20 000m2. Property types within this category can range from a single building, complex of buildings or a district within a town/city and must include at least five of the following uses: residential, retail, commercial, leisure, cultural, institutional, public service and industrial.
The International Property Awards are the largest, most prestigious, and widely recognised property awards programme in the world. Now in their 32nd year, the International Property Awards celebrate the very best projects and professionals in the industry across 45 residential and commercial categories. Awards are split into four category groups namely, Architecture, Development, Interior Design and Real Estate Categories; across nine regions covering Africa, Arabia, Asia Pacific, Canada, Caribbean, Central & South America, Europe, UK and the USA. Over the past year, an independent panel of over 100 industry experts studied and assessed hundreds of entries to finally arrive at the winners. Masterplan entries were judged based on criteria ranging from design and land use, architecture, appearance and finish, to sustainability, energy conservation and innovation.
Willie Vos, CEO of Waterfall City Management Company, said; “The fact that Waterfall City has been chosen as the very first Best in the World winner of the International Property Awards’ new Masterplan category, is a huge honour. As Africa continues to attract interest as an emerging economic investment hub, we are proud to be playing a role in representing the continent on a global stage, showcasing local talent and ability. Such international recognition not only emphasises the innovation excellence that has gone into planning the growth of this smart city but is also a reward for all the hard work that my team, along with our partners and stakeholders, continue to put into this development – work and dedication that I am so proud of. As we settle into 2025, we look forward to many of our plans coming to fruition this year, further enhancing what Waterfall City is all about – creating a smart city so admired, safe and sustainable that there is no better place to live, work, play and prosper.”
