The pool at the San Alfonso Del Mar resort will soon lose its title as the world's largest.

Photo courtesy Crystal Lagoons Corporation

A country famous for its spectacular tourist sites will soon have another one—the largest swimming pool in the world.

The builder, Crystal Lagoons Corp., in Santiago, Chile, will create the world's largest pool in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm El Sheik located near the southern top of the Sinai Peninsula.

The $5.5-billion US project, called City of the Stars, will include 12 lagoon pools, with the largest measuring 8.8 ha (21.7 acres).

The Sharm El Sheik pool will surpass the 1,013 m (3,324 ft) long pool Crystal Lagoons built in the coastal town of Algorrobo, Chile, at the San Alfonso Del Mar resort. Still holding the title of the world's largest pool, the San Alfonso project was completed in 2007 and is so vast it can accommodate classes for kayaking, sailing, parasailing, diving and swimming without interfering with bathers who wish to splash around and relax in the water. It also features a 100 m (328 ft) long waterslide, waterplay area, beaches, boat slips and docks.

To be completed by year end, the Sharm El Sheik project will also feature hotels, a shopping centre and 30,000 homes.