Leading British water management specialist Kingcombe Aquacare is offering its expertise for the construction of a new 3.5-hectare public amenity lake in Saudi Arabia.

The Salam Park lake, which will soon be ready for filling, is situated in the heart of Riyadh.

The lake is being built by local contractors using 35,000 sq m of 1-mm-thick Firestone waterproof membrane protected by a geotextile material, specified by and under the supervision of Kingcombe Aquacare.

The client is the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA).

"The conditions created by the temperature extremes found in Saudi Arabia meant that we had to specify a waterproof membrane that was going to be able to cope," says John Colton, managing director of Kingcombe Aquacare, which is based in Hooke, Dorset.

"We have designed and built countless lakes and ponds over the years and we believe that EPDM waterproof pondliner made by Firestone Building Products is the best membrane material on the market.

"It is tough and highly puncture-resistant, friendly to fish and plant life and, most significant of all, is highly flexible and convenient to join on site - of paramount importance when waterproofing irregular shapes and around complicated structures or where ground conditions might place stress on the liner."

As Kingcombe Aquacare is a major user and regular installer of Firestone waterproof membranes, the company recently featured the product on its stand at the External Works - EWx 2003 - exhibition in Birmingham in April. Colton says considerable interest was shown in the product at the expo by architects and landscape designers.

"They appreciated that any material tough enough to withstand the rigours of the Saudi climate could also solve their waterproofing problems," he says. "We have already received two significant orders to supply and install 2,000 sq m of the liner from visitors to the stand."