Crystal Lagoons Corp., the patented technology developer of giant crystalline lagoons, has added a second Guinness World Record to its growing list of global accolades, with the company's 12.5-hectare Sharm El Sheikh manmade lagoon project officially named largest in the world. This breaks the company's own previous record, with its eight-hectare San Alfonso del Mar lagoon in Chile — the Guinness World Record holder since 2007. Located inland from the renowned Red Sea resort in the desert hinterland, the $5.5 million lagoon is the centerpiece of the $500 million Citystars Sharm El Sheikh tourism development being developed by Egypt's Sharbatly family. The 750-hectare mixed-use community will feature 12 lagoons in total, upon completion, utilizing 100 hectares of salt water sourced from underground aquifers. The lagoons will be a major leisure attraction for visitors and residents occupying the 30,000 planned residential units, along with hotels, golf courses, marinas, museums and a shopping mall. "What is truly unique about this project is not only its desert setting but the fact that, thanks to our technological innovation, we are able to take water that is not being used elsewhere, and make it a sustainable feature within a traditionally arid desert landscape, which adds tangible real estate value to the development," said Carlos Salas, regional director middle east, Crystal Lagoons. "This is our first mixed-use project anywhere in the world where the technology will be used both for recreational purposes as well as for water desalination, thereby providing clean, fresh water for the entire 750-hectare community," he added. Crystal Lagoons has a total of four active projects in Egypt, including the CityStars Sharm El Sheikh lagoon, its regional flagship. Building on the success of its first Middle East — and Egypt — project, the company is also developing a second lagoon for Sharm El Sheikh. The 2.7-hectare Radamis Lagoon will be the glittering turquoise centerpiece for a 2,500-room, three-hotel mixed-use development. Earlier this year, Crystal Lagoons announced two new Egypt initiatives — Swanlake North Coast and Porto Lagoons, both of which are located on the country's northern Mediterranean coast, close to Alexandria. The high-end $200 million Swanlake North Coast project that targets second home investors, is under development by Hassan Allam properties, one of Egypt's leading luxury residential developers. Three lagoons covering over 6.1 hectares will be a central feature of the landscaped community, which will also encompass upscale residential villas, twin villas, chalets and a boutique hotel. The fourth project in Crystal Lagoons' Egypt portfolio is the Porto Group-developed $345 million, 150-hectare mixed-use Porto Golf Marina. A 2.4-hectare crystalline lagoon will complement an exciting collection of restaurants and 19 residential buildings with a total of 2,126 apartments under the Porto Lagoons banner. An 18-hole golf course is also being developed, designed by award winning American golf course architect, Raymond Hearn. To date, Crystal Lagoons has an active portfolio of over 40 projects spread across the Middle East and North Africa, in key locations including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with a total of 300 projects worldwide, located in 60 countries. "The Middle East and North Africa region represents a great opportunity for Crystal Lagoons at a time when investment in tourism infrastructure continues to grow. Our portfolio of projects is helping raise awareness and interest for major hubs in the region and our significant Egypt presence reflects the value that delivering a lagoon project can bring to emblematic leisure destinations across the MENA region," said Salas.
