Multinational waterway developer Crystal Lagoons plans to sign a R1.4-billion deal before the end of the year to build a massive artificial lagoon in northern KwaZulu-Natal, the first of several projects it hopes to develop in South Africa. The company, formed about 10 years ago by Chilean scientist and property developer Fernando Fischmann, specialises in creating lagoons in conjunction with waterfront-style residential complexes.Its global business director, Cristóbal Baixas Mingo, said the growing number of gated communities and resorts in South Africa presented opportunities for the company's inland waterway technology.He would not disclose details of the KwaZulu-Natal project, other than the projected price, but said Crystal Lagoons was also considering two projects in Johannesburg with a combined value of R3-billion.The company was also negotiating deals in Kenya."These projects are sizable and will be developed in upmarket areas where demand for luxurious facilities like lagoons tends to be higher," Baixas said."We appreciate that Cape Town has many prime real estate areas and attracts tourists, but at this stage we do not have plans to develop lagoons there. This is because it is much more expensive to develop them in Cape Town at the moment."Baixas said lagoons boosted property prices."We feel we can design very appealing lagoons for many of the estates in South Africa's major cities or near them."story_article_left1Local real estate experts said that while large water bodies could add value to residential properties, maintenance would probably be expensive."Water features in general, whether lakes, rivers or the ocean, add value to a development," said Herschel Jawitz, CEO of Jawitz Properties."I think the Crystal Lagoons concept would do the same and it seems to have had success in South America and the Middle East."However, one of the challenges would be that it is a dollar-based product and the ongoing maintenance is dollar-based, which is risky from a cost point of view."Jawitz said the concept "would probably be appropriate for large-scale developments where the cost could be apportioned across a large number of users or homes".Andrew Golding, CEO of the Pam Golding Property Group, said: "The market seemingly has an appetite for quality lifestyle estates, and if this includes lagoons which are eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable, this could create an attractive alternative to the traditional golf or equestrian estate."Crystal Lagoons recently opened an office in Cape Town from which to launch its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.Baixas, an engineer, said the company had developed a way to create environmentally friendly, crystal-clear lagoons at low cost in terms of both construction and maintenance.But Kim Fairbairn, a local architect whose firm is working with Crystal Lagoons, acknowledged the weak rand was an issue."This technology is new to South Africa and it is relatively expensive to build and run, as development and maintenance costs are dollar-based," he said. "As a result, we are spending quite a bit of time to create a design which will be feasible and sustainable."Fairbairn said the proposed resorts on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast would feature lagoons some 3ha each in size.Crystal Lagoons has built 400 projects in 60 countries, including 10 in Egypt, and this showed the technology was reliable and usable almost anywhere, Baixas said."Crystal Lagoons can use any type of water - fresh, salt, or brackish - to provide a sustainable solution for the efficient use of water resources," he said.full_story_image_hleft1A 3ha lake took about eight months to complete and could be used for swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing, Baixas said.He said a typical Crystal Lagoons water body used 30 times less fresh water than a golf course of the same size, and half the amount of fresh water that a park of the same size would need.Alastair Sinclair, Crystal Lagoons' regional director for Africa, said the technology lowered the carbon footprint of property developments because the water could be incorporated into the heating and airconditioning systems of surrounding buildings. This could reduce electricity consumption by up to 50%.Baixas said Crystal Lagoons could also retrofit existing water features with its water treatment technology.The company says the water in its lagoons is kept clean with minimal filtration and chemicals.Water quality is monitored and adjusted remotely by the company's technicians.andersona@bdlive.co.za..