CAPE TOWN, AUGUST: Multinational water innovation Crystal Lagoons recently entered the South African and broader African market, bringing their award winning technology which is patented in 160 countries, to partner with real estate developers to create the world’s top amenity: an environmentally friendly crystal-clear lagoon of unlimited dimensions, which uses half the water of a park of the same size and 30 times less water than a golf course.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ (PwC) “Real Estate 2020: Building the Future” identifies that global megatrends such as rapid urbanization, technology and sustainability will drive growth in the real estate industry across Africa over the next four years. PwC estimates that the urban population in Africa will increase to 56% in 2050, making it the most rapidly urbanizing region in the world. The report also found that the global trend of innovative, sustainable and low-cost technologies is expected to continue in Africa.
“Crystal Lagoons offers an amenity that answers all of these needs. The lagoons, which are developed at very low construction and maintenance costs, can use any type of water – fresh, salt, or brackish (which has no alternative use), providing a sustainable solution for the efficient use of water resources,” says Alastair Sinclair, Crystal Lagoons’ Regional Director for Africa.
“A Crystal Lagoon makes good business sense in any development, increasing sales rates and prices and opening up previously unfeasible locations to development. Crystal Lagoons’ technology is environmentally friendly as it involves very low water consumption, because the lagoons work on closed circuits, and only the water lost via evaporation needs replacing. In addition, by using Crystal Lagoons evaporation control film technology, water lost to evaporation is 50% less than with natural evaporation,” adds Sinclair.
“Sustainability is a key factor driving all new developments in Africa, and Crystal Lagoons’ technology is of huge benefit to a country like South Africa, where both water and energy are scarce resources. The technology creates opportunities for the utilisation of large tracts of undeveloped inland areas, as well as the possibility of converting less accessible parts of our vast coastline into safe recreational areas for families to enjoy,” adds Sinclair.
A Crystal Lagoon is ideal for a wide range of recreational activities, including swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing, all within a safe environment, providing exceptional value to real estate projects and people who want to live at the water’s edge. Crystal Lagoons’ water facilities can be enjoyed by everybody from children and adults to professional swimmers, unlike golf courses, which can only be enjoyed by a very select group of people. In addition, they can carry out activities which add high value to the community, such as sport competitions, events, shows and many others.
Crystal Lagoons’ founder Fernando Fischmann is a real estate developer and biochemist who sets his scientific efforts towards developing a wide variety of industrial applications that solve worldwide problems such as energy and water scarcity, and environmental degradation.
Fischmann’s work was recently honoured by the International Business Awards. He was named ‘Innovator of the Year’ while the patented Crystal Lagoons desalination technology was awarded the ‘Energy Industry Innovator of the Year’. Fischmann is also one of the 5 finalists for this year’s Real Innovation Award, organised by the London Business School.
The company boasts a portfolio of 400 projects in different stages of development in over 60 countries. The 12.5-hectare lagoon at the Citystars Sharm El Sheikh tourist development in Egypt bested the company’s previous Guinness world record-breaking project – the iconic, 8-hectare San Alfonso del Mar lagoon, in Algarrobo, Chile.
Located in the middle of the desert in one of Egypt’s most luxurious coastal areas, this project productively accesses salt water derived from underground aquifers, transforming unusable land with no commercial value into a successful project with a beautiful amenity, 5km inland from the famous tourist destination of Sharm El Sheikh.
“There is a lot of interest from local developers who are looking for a sustainable amenity to set themselves apart, especially in residential developments with no access to water for leisure activities. We look forward to enabling developers to unlock greater benefits in their projects, whilst improving the lives of end-users,” says Sinclair.
