<<Print>>

A Ghanaian construction company was selected to renovate Accra’s largest 5-star high-end hotel, Movenpick Ambassador Hotel.

Although, there was competition for the contract with foreign companies, Andoc Prestige Limited, a Ghanaian real estate development company, was hired and completed full exterior renovation of the hotel, including the exterior of the building, fenced wall, and railings.

Each year, the 260-room and suite hotel attracts a plethora of high-profile guests including investors, diplomats, and politicians. To show a neat appearance while undergoing renovations, Andoc completed the entire renovation without a scaffold.

“Because it’s an ongoing hotel, we didn’t want the place to look like a construction site so we brought in 25 full-time high-rise workers,” said CEO of Andoc Prestige Limited, Andrew T. Baffoe. “We worked in shifts and completed each part in layers. It’s very tedious work. Each week, we would work on about 26 rooms, from ground floor to the 10th floor. We did this around the entire hotel.”

Baffoe estimated it would take 3-4 months to complete the entire exterior renovations: power washing, priming, repairing cracks, painting, replacing rails, etc. However, they were able to complete the renovations 3 weeks earlier and were awarded a certificate of completion by Movenpick.

The real estate industry in Ghana has seen a recent shift in the hiring of local construction companies to complete high-level professional work. Since foreign construction companies may cost more to hire because they have to factor in workers’ travel and accommodations, more people are turning to Ghanaian construction companies for quality work and affordable prices.

“Cost-wise, it saves, and real estate industry in Ghana is really learning. A lot of people are using local companies now because there is more trust that they can deliver detailed work within the timeline,” said Baffoe. The company has seen an increase of interest to build from people locally and abroad, to develop commercial and/or residential properties in Ghana.

The growing real estate market is influenced by Ghana’s growing economy, national efforts to promote investment, new standards within the real estate industry, and people’s trust in the abilities of local companies.

“People are gaining trust with local companies in order to send money and build for them, they see that they can develop real estate in Ghana and it will generate revenue for them,” said Baffoe. “Developers are also improving with real estate in Ghana. From prime locations, accessibility, local amenities, client safety and security, and building quality, we are considering a lot more when building now, which is making the industry more convincing and profitable to invest in.”