Multinational water innovation company Crystal Lagoons has partnered with Balwin Properties for the construction and operation of South Africa’s first Crystal Lagoon, which will bring beach life to Gauteng.
Balwin Properties’ new R4.2bn residential development, The Blyde at Riverwalk Estate, located in Pretoria East, Gauteng, will showcase Crystal Lagoons’ technology, which is patented in 190 countries and has revolutionised the global real estate market by bringing beach paradises to new locations, where swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing can be enjoyed.
The Crystal Lagoon at The Blyde at Riverwalk Estate joins over 600 Crystal Lagoons projects – in different stages of development and negotiation worldwide – in over 60 countries.
“At 1.5 ha, the Crystal Lagoon will be a key selling-point for the development, and will be the first lagoon to feature the concept in Sub-Saharan Africa,” says Alastair Sinclair, regional director for Africa at Crystal Lagoons.
“The Crystal Lagoon at The Blyde at Riverwalk Estate will have beaches, a pedestrian promenade and clubhouses for the use of residents. The lagoon is a family oriented amenity that allows for swimming and practice of water-sports in a safe, controlled environment, and in a sustainable manner.
“It will help solve the problem of safe swimming in dangerous coastal areas and will add value to inland areas far from the coast. It will be especially useful for locations where the sea or rivers are unswimmable due to pollution, sharks or dangerous currents.”
Sinclair says the Pretoria project is the start of Crystal Lagoon’s expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa. “With 13 projects in various stages of design, construction and operation in Egypt, the addition of this lagoon to our growing portfolio further extends our footprint in Africa, and cements the region as one of importance to the global growth of our company.”
Balwin chief executive, Steve Brookes, says the lagoon at The Blyde at Riverwalk Estate will be the first of at least six lagoons in SA combined with the Balwin brand.
“By bringing the beach to Pretoria we are making resort lifestyle living a reality upcountry. This development will also have the lifestyle centre that includes a gym, a squash court, a restaurant, a concierge, a laundromat, a cinema room and a function room as well as state of the art security. The continuous promenade around the lagoon is perfect for sunset strolls and it will connect the different amenities around the lagoon,” Brookes says.
Sinclair says the addition of a Crystal Lagoon to property developments greatly increases sales, and at a very low cost – in construction and maintenance, and importantly, in basic resource consumption such as electricity and water. A Crystal Lagoon can be filled with fresh, brackish, or even salt water and uses 2% of the energy of standard pool filtration technologies, and 100 times fewer additives.
“A typical Crystal Lagoons uses 30 times less water than a standard golf course, and in many cases rainwater is all that is needed to replenish the water, thanks in part to the patented anti-evaporation film which restricts the amount of water lost through evaporation.”
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