$4bn Saudi showpiece to splash out on “crystal lagoon”

Crystal Lagoons, a Chilean developer of artificial lakes, has been asked to install an 8 hectare lagoon in a $4bn mixed-use development in Saudi Arabia.  

The lagoon will be part of the 240 hectare Prince Sultan Cultural Centre in the city of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast. 

Kevin Morgan, the chief executive of Crystal Lagoons, said: "This will be the largest man-made lagoon of its kind in the kingdom and represents a milestone in our efforts to expand our Middle Eastern presence." 

The Prince Sultan project will include a dedicated medical city, including a medical university, a cultural centre, two international schools, luxury hotels and a shopping complex. 

It will also contain what amounts to a small town: 3,600 apartments, villas and condominiums, and 750 hotel rooms. Altogether, the development will provide accommodation for some 15,000 people.

Artists depiction of the Prince Sultan Cultural Centre (PSCC)

At the heart of the scheme will be a cultural centre comprising a theatre, a museum of Arabia and a library.  

The first phase of the project is due be completed in 2015; other parts will be up and running within the next five years. 

Morgan said: "The potential of Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector makes it one of the most exciting markets in the region right now, and arguably one of the most important." 

The centre was inaugurated in May this year.