Crystal Lagoons Corportation, developer of the world’s first crystalline lagoon, said it had clinched orders worth $1.7 billion from companies in Oman, Turkey and India at last week’s Cityscape Global expo held in Dubai.

The biggest of the three projects, worth $500 million will be constructed near Muscat, Oman, in conjunction with Alargan, one of Kuwait’s leading developers, said a statement from Crystal Lagoons.

In addition to a seven hectare lagoon, the site will also feature three hotels, 400 villas and 800 apartments, it added.

Separately, the company is planning a four hectare lagoon as the centrepiece of the $450m “Olivian” luxury development in Turkey comprising 2,000 villas and an 18-hole golf course.

They ended a successful week at Cityscape Global, an integral part of the world’s largest business-to-business property investment and development event brand, by signing a $800 million contract to build a six hectare lagoon in Amby Valley in Mumbai, India.

“Like all our sites, these projects add value to the land as we are turning predominately desert locales into premium land. Everyone talks about location, but that doesn’t apply to this initiative because these projects will change the real estate industry in every locale they are built,” said Fernando Fischmann creator and owner of Crystal Lagoons.

'This is the first time we attended Cityscape since the company launched three years ago but it has been a worthwhile investment. We have signed some major deals, which will see us enter new markets and provide a boost to local economies in each area.'

Crystal Lagoons had recently announced its $5 billion project in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, will overtake the one in Chile to become the largest swimming crystalline lagoon in the world when it is inaugurated next year.

Besides this 12 hectare lagoon, the project features another 10 giant lagoons that in total hold more than 100 hectares of crystal clear water in the middle of the desert. The first lagoon will be inaugurated in early 2011.

Despite the scale of the schemes, each one focuses on the environment, as they are filled with brackish water taken from shallow wells in the desert.

“In addition to the water source, all of our projects use 50 times less energy than normal water filtration systems and 100 times fewer chemicals than those used to treat tap water,” added Fischmann.

The company, founded in 2007 in Chile, has 50 projects underway across the Middle East and 150 completed or under construction around the world.

Other sites in the Mena region include Amer Group’s Soma Bay, in Hurghada, a $1.2 billion investment that will be operational in 2012, and the $250 million “Dead Sea Lagoon” in Jordan, built in association with Sama Jordan, owned by the Bani Hani family.

The 4.5 hectare crystal clear lagoon is expected to attract a wider tourist variety and will be finished halfway through 2011, Fischmann said.-TradeArabia News Service