JRA masterplan AED20bn Sharjah Waterfront City's Crystal Lagoon Water Theme Park
By Tom Anstey
JRA have provided masterplanning and preliminary concepts for the development Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) have unveiled the masterplan and preliminary concept design for Crystal Lagoon Water Theme Park – part of the AED20bn (US$5.4bn, €4.8bn, £3.5bn) Sharjah Waterfront City development in the UAE.
To include a mix of 40 water and dry rides, including a rollercoaster that combines the action of a water ride with the interactive nature of a video game – a first for the Middle East – the theme park will sit on one of a series of 10 Islands interconnected by man-made canals. Attractions will also include a combination of waterslides, family rides, thrill rides, 4D dark rides, a state-of-the-art planetarium and children’s rides. Crystal Lagoon will also feature a night water show made up of a series of coloured fountains to provide relaxation to visitors after spending a day in the water/theme park hybrid.
Announced in 2012 and officially launched at Cityscape Global 2015, Sharjah Waterfront City sits on 36km (22.3 miles) of coastline with an area of 5.5sq km (2.1sq miles), offering a mixed-use development featuring residential, commercial and tourism development for the region.
“We have launched Sharjah Waterfront City keeping in line with Sharjah’s development plans to attract 10 million visitors to its emirate by 2021,” said Hayssam El Masri, president of developer Sharjah Oasis Real Estate. “These robust plans will increase demand for residential and commercial units as well as hotels, especially in prime locations that offer all modern facilities and we can proudly say Sharjah Waterfront City will be able to match the demands and provide the desired quality of living.”
Due to favourable conditions in the UAE, the attraction will operate year-round, with a ‘well known waterpark operator’ handling day-to-day operations at the park. According to a feasibility study by Colliers International, more than a million people are expected to visit the attraction on an annual basis once fully operational.
The theme park will sit on one of a series of ten Islands interconnected by man-made canals Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Due to favourable conditions in the UAE, the attraction will operate year-round Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
A rollercoaster that combines the action of a water ride with the interactive nature of a video game will be included Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) is finalising work on a science and technology focused children’s museum ...
Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) have unveiled the masterplan and preliminary concept design
for Crystal Lagoon Water Theme Park – part of the AED20bn (US$5.4bn, €4.8bn, £3.5bn)
Sharjah Waterfront City development in the UAE.
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gathering of the Health & Fitness industry’s most influential leaders.
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has today (9 June 2026) announced that it will be supporting the National Year of Reading as
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understood functional fitness.
JRA masterplan AED20bn Sharjah Waterfront City's Crystal Lagoon Water Theme Park
By Tom Anstey
JRA have provided masterplanning and preliminary concepts for the development Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) have unveiled the masterplan and preliminary concept design for Crystal Lagoon Water Theme Park – part of the AED20bn (US$5.4bn, €4.8bn, £3.5bn) Sharjah Waterfront City development in the UAE.
To include a mix of 40 water and dry rides, including a rollercoaster that combines the action of a water ride with the interactive nature of a video game – a first for the Middle East – the theme park will sit on one of a series of 10 Islands interconnected by man-made canals. Attractions will also include a combination of waterslides, family rides, thrill rides, 4D dark rides, a state-of-the-art planetarium and children’s rides. Crystal Lagoon will also feature a night water show made up of a series of coloured fountains to provide relaxation to visitors after spending a day in the water/theme park hybrid.
Announced in 2012 and officially launched at Cityscape Global 2015, Sharjah Waterfront City sits on 36km (22.3 miles) of coastline with an area of 5.5sq km (2.1sq miles), offering a mixed-use development featuring residential, commercial and tourism development for the region.
“We have launched Sharjah Waterfront City keeping in line with Sharjah’s development plans to attract 10 million visitors to its emirate by 2021,” said Hayssam El Masri, president of developer Sharjah Oasis Real Estate. “These robust plans will increase demand for residential and commercial units as well as hotels, especially in prime locations that offer all modern facilities and we can proudly say Sharjah Waterfront City will be able to match the demands and provide the desired quality of living.”
Due to favourable conditions in the UAE, the attraction will operate year-round, with a ‘well known waterpark operator’ handling day-to-day operations at the park. According to a feasibility study by Colliers International, more than a million people are expected to visit the attraction on an annual basis once fully operational.
The theme park will sit on one of a series of ten Islands interconnected by man-made canals Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Due to favourable conditions in the UAE, the attraction will operate year-round Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
A rollercoaster that combines the action of a water ride with the interactive nature of a video game will be included Credit: Jack Rouse Associates
Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) is finalising work on a science and technology focused children’s museum ...
Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) have unveiled the masterplan and preliminary concept design
for Crystal Lagoon Water Theme Park – part of the AED20bn (US$5.4bn, €4.8bn, £3.5bn)
Sharjah Waterfront City development in the UAE.
If the health service is to
survive, we must recognise
that it is a disease service
– and that wellbeing rests with
us, says the activity advocate
and healthy ageing champion.
He talks to Kate Cracknell
For every member with a tripod and a big following, there are others irritated at the way equipment is being hogged or wary they’ll be in the background on someone’s Insta feed. Do influencers offer valuable, free marketing or are they just a nuisance? Kath Hudson finds out how operators are responding
As the entrepreneur who started Wexer, Fresh Fitness, Fitness DK and Repeat, as well as being a former elite athlete, Rasmus Ingerslev’s life looked perfect from the outside, but onthe inside it was a different story. He talks to Kath Hudson about healing old wounds
Collaborations with the medical profession and greater aspirations around wellbeing are creating a need for more experts in our sector. It’s time to reboot our thinking around the workforce
Strength training is evolving,
driven by changing consumer
preferences. Julie Cramer talks
to innovators about how their
products are meeting this demand
Record market penetration in the UK
fitness sector masks a deeper shift
around consumer engagement, according
to a report from Grant Thornton and
UK Active, as Liz Terry reports
Celebrating its milestone 5th anniversary, W3Fit EMEA returns in 2026 with an unmissable
gathering of the Health & Fitness industry’s most influential leaders.
GLL, the charitable social enterprise operating Libraries and Leisure Centres across the UK,
has today (9 June 2026) announced that it will be supporting the National Year of Reading as
a major campaign partner alongside national organisations, including BBC Sport, Audible, DC
Thomson and Tesco.
When brothers Patrick and Kevin first approached BLK BOX, they had a vision and an unusual
space. Beneath a building in Embrach, Switzerland, sat an underground facility with huge
potential. What it needed was the right layout, the right equipment, and a partner who
understood functional fitness.
