What appears to be a dried-up pond in the middle of a vast construction site at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt could set a new record as the world’s largest swimming pool. Details are sketchy, but Crystal Lagoon is set to be the 120,000-sq-meter (29.2-acre) centerpiece of a new resort in Sharm El Sheikh, near the Red Sea coast.
The pool was designed by Crystal Lagoons Corp., a Chilean company led by biochemist-entrepreneur Fernando Fischmann, who has pioneered the development of the huge structures. Fischmann developed a technology to recycle seawater and keep it clean, which makes such large pools viable.
The technology "consists of an innovative process of controlled pulses of chemical additives that allow [us] to use up to 100 times less chemicals in comparison to traditional pool systems," says Felipe Pascual, commercial director of Crystal Lagoons. The approach "also has a process of sound pulses that uses only 2% of the energy of traditional filtration systems,” he adds.
Pascual says the company provides the architectural design of the lagoon as well as the basic and detailed engineering. “We supervise its construction from beginning to end. Once construction has been completed, Crystal Lagoons controls the pool’s operation by using telemetric systems via the internet," he adds. "This enables us to control specific water parameters and take the necessary maintenance actions in due time.”
Cairo-based Engineering Construction Office served as the general contractor, according to Mahmoud Khorshed, a spokesman for Citystars Properties, the pool’s owner.