Today, 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66% by 2050. Projections show that the urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban populations by 2050, with close to 90% of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa according to a new United Nations report.

The real estate and construction industry in Ghana over the past years has seen massive boom and growth. This is attributed to the rapid economic growth of the economy. With a vibrant economy, a growing population, a sophisticated and well-educated professional class demand for all kinds of real estate development largely outstrips supply. Ghana is now classified as middle income with the population in its cities Accra and Kumasi increasing rapidly at 1.6 million and 1.2 million respectively.

The construction sector has consistently registered double digit growth bolstered by investments in real estate, improved public infrastructure, investment in the mining and the oil and gas sector. The construction sector on average registered growth rates of around 14% over 2011 to 2014 and 0is poised to maintain the same pace of growth over the medium term to 2017.

The sector is on the rise, taking advantage of increased demand for residential and office accommodation, as well as hospitality services reflecting the growth of the middle-income class. Ghana is among those African countries with a sizeable middle-class population.

For a country widely acknowledged to have moved from low-income to lower middle-income status (according to World Bank classifications), with a reputation for economic and political stability, Ghana is slowly turning into the go-to investment destination and a springboard for investors from all over the world seeking a safe haven to put their investment dollars on the African continent.

Ghana’s property development industry is divided into three (3) areas:

• The Public Sector Real Estate Development
• Emerging Private Sector Real Estate Development
• Private Individuals

The activities of these three groups are facilitated by the banks and the primary mortgage market which although at its early stages of development, has demonstrated enormous growth potential.

The Real Estate industry is however dominated mainly by:

• Commercial Real Estate Developers
• Residential Construction Firms and Private Individuals
• Property Management Companies.

This sector of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is very promising and determined to grow in the years to come.

Mr. Rockson Kwesi Dogbegah is a Chartered Construction Manager by profession. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of Berock Ventures Limited, a chartered building and construction surveying firm in Ghana. Rockson holds an MBA in Project Management from the De Monfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom and Fellowships in many professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Building, UK; Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, UK; Institute of Directors of Ghana; and Ghana Institute of Construction. Rockson is a major advocate for construction industry development and has served as Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Building Africa and immediate past President of the Ghana Chapter of the same professional organization.

He is also a member of many national bodies including: Ghana Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement (GTF-SPP) and the Management Board of CSIR-Building and Road Research Institute. He is a past Chairman of the Board of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), was a member of the Working Group of Developing a Policy on Timber Products in Ghana, 2013; and the Ghana Contract Monitoring Group (GCMG) – a World Bank initiative that spanned 2012 to 2013. Between 2013 and 2015 Rockson was also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Pioneers Research Fund; President of the Ghana Contractors Association Council (GCAC) IN 2012; Chairman of the Projects Committee in Global Evangelical Church, Lashibi Accra since 2006; and the Founder of the Volta Heroes Foundation.

Presently, he is a member of the Governing Council of Institute of Directors Ghana (IOD-Gh.)  and the Chairman of Membership Development Committee of IOD-Gh. He is the Interim Chairman of African Union of Construction Managers (AUCM). He also serves as the Chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries Construction Sector.

Rockson is also heavily involved in National Church Administration; He is the National Chairman of the Projects and Physical Development Committee of Global Evangelical Church, National Chairman of Investment and Income Generation Committee of Global Evangelical Church, Ghana. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the Global Theological Seminary and a Member of the Governing Council of the Global Evangelical Church Ghana. Rockson’s outstanding service to his country has been recognized locally and internationally by reputable institutions. Key among them is the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the construction industry and national development in 2015 and International Award in Business Development by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) in London.

He received four awards in 2013-  the Medallion from West Africa Nobles for successfully starting and growing a business in Ghana that employs several Ghanaians for twenty years; voted the Best Entrepreneur in the Building and Civil Engineering Category in Ghana; the International Nobles Award – by the West Africa Nobles Forum; and the Ernst and Young Award for being an Emerging Entrepreneur in West Africa, in Nigeria. He won two awards in 2012 – the Golden Award in Construction – in the Building and Civil Engineering Category at the 9th Ashanti Business Excellence Award Ceremony held in Kumasi; and Best Entrepreneur in the Building and Civil Engineering category at the 3rd Unique Trust Ghana Entrepreneur award. Mr. Dogbegah is an illustrious citizen of Ghana, his initiatives at the forefront of the construction industry development, has earned him the accolade as the “voice” of the construction industry in Ghana. He also continues to serve as both member and chairman of several boards of key public and private organizations in the country; adding his quota to the development of excellence and sustainable growth of Ghana and the world at large.