MARKO POLO BRIDGE

DUBROVNIK-NERETVA COUNTY

REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

BUILDING ON THE PAST…

TO REACH THE FUTURE

JULY 16 2012. V5.7

Concept and images/design are the exclusive property of and Lotus Architecti.

Reproduction or unauthorized use is not permitted and will be prosecuted to the

fullest extent of the law.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Achieves Croatia’s territorial cohesion one

month before Croatia’s EU accession and

establish full sovereignty over Croatian

territory for the first time in 314 years

• Requires € 36MM investment; can be from

private investors

• 200 new jobs created during bridge

construction and €9 million in VAT to the

government; under normal bridge

operations, 20 full-time jobs created with an

average net monthly wage of €1.622,

government will receive nearly €2 million

per year in VAT revenues from toll fees.

• No more real estate needed

• Components made in Croatia

• No weight / vehicle type restrictions

• Safe, cost-effective, environmentally-

friendly and permanent solution

• Passage duration: 3 minutes

• Daily capacity: 42.000 vehicles

• Average toll: € 5,00 plus tax

• Deep water; soft sea floor

• Calm surface with little wind; mild water currents and small tidal variation

• Little to no large boat traffic

TARGET SITE IS IDEAL

FOR FLOATING BRIDGE

Sources: Stanford University Center for Turbulence Research; Dartmouth College School of Engineering;

Hrvatski hidrometeorološki zavod

• Croatia maintains complete sovereignty over its territory for first time in 314 years

• BiH has no legal right to obstruct construction since continuous open access to sea is assured

• No additional real estate required, thus no one can profit from speculation or delay project

• Bridge capacity exceeds traffic demand for 50 years (42,000 vehicles daily capacity)

• Preserves water quality in important aquaculture zone

• Integrates subtle design motives from the whole County’s culture and history

• All electricity required for operations shall be produced by solar panels on the roof of the toll both plaza

SOLUTION WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Source: European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies: “Jurisdictional Waters in the

Mediterranean and Black Seas” http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/publications/full/bsb7-4_klemencic.pdf

BiH

Croatia

CONSTRUCTION PLAN

• Individual pontoons are built on dry land next to a waterway

• Then they are floated and towed like barges to the site

• Pieced together like “legos” starting at the edge toward the center

• Pontoons are held in place by enormous steel cables connected to heavy concrete anchors on the seabed

• Once in place, then the roadway material and other items are added on to the pontoon surface

• Pontoons are water-tight concrete that does not erode over time and require no maintenance

• The weight of the water displaced by the pontoons is equal to the weight of the structure (including all traffic), which allows the bridge to float safely

PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION

2

2

1

3

3

4

1 Four components of bridge:

1. Access roads and toll plazas

2. Approach bridges

3. Pontoon bridge

4. Large vessel gate (center)

Success will require close

collaboration between Hrvatske

Ceste, The Adriatic Group, Lotus

Architecti, Marinetek and Investors.

+ 200 new jobs created during construction and 20 full-time for operations (average monthly net wage: €1.622)

+ Government VAT earnings from the bridge will be € 9 million in VAT in next 10 months from construction and nearly € 2 million per year from toll fees.

+ Added values from connecting Neretva and Pelješca regions

+ Significant decrease in costs: transportation, distribution, cost of living, etc

+ Cost decreases help Croatian tourism offer competitive in Mediterranean

± Negligible increase in real estate values for Peljesac, Dubrovnik or Korcula

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT VALUE

CONFIRMATION FROM MARINETEK OF ABILITY

TO CONSTRUCT PONTOON BRIDGE

ISO 9001 ISO 14001 Croatian Boat Registry

MARINETEK CREDENTIALS

JAMES PRICE CHUCK

E: JAMESPRICECHUCK@THEADRIATICGROUP.COM

MAJA BRUČIĆ

E: MAJA@LOTUSARCHITECTI.COM

Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNSkMIgFxMo

FOR MORE INFORMATION,

PLEASE CONTACT:

Concept and images/design are the exclusive property of and Lotus Architecti.

Reproduction or unauthorized use is not permitted and will be

prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

APPENDIX

July 17, 2012

In this letter and the attached document, please find additional information and detail on our floating bridge proposal to fulfill Croatia’s

requirement of territorial cohesion prior to EU accession in a manner that adheres to the vision, mission and goals of the Dubrovnik-Neretva

Zupanija, Hrvatske Ceste and the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.

Floating bridges provide safe, cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and permanent solutions to transportation challenges on every continent

(except Antarctica). Notable examples are in Norway (longest floating bridge in Europe) and the United States of America (longest floating bridge

in the world). More than 115.000 vehicles of all types cross the American bridge each day, which represents a daily vehicle volume equal to the

entire population of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

Our proposed floating bridge would be the longest in Europe, but the journey across would last only 3 minutes. The bridge’s daily capacity of

42.000 vehicles is nearly 3x greater than the current peak seasonal traffic volume at the HR-BiH border in question, so no additional construction

will be needed to handle large volume increases. The average toll for one vehicle and one person would be EUR 5,00 plus tax and there are no

technical restrictions to weight, size or type of vehicle. All cargo and passenger vehicles may move freely across the bridge. The construction and

operation of our bridge proposal would have no negative environmental impact because it is a closed system in which no waste reaches the

water and no sea bed digging is needed. Our bridge can be constructed for EUR 36 million and completed by June 2013. Given correct operating

concession terms, our proposal could be completely funded by private investors at no cost to Croatia.

In contrast, the ferry boat solution’s capacity is 50% smaller, would require 6.7x more time per crossing per vehicle (not including waiting for a

ferry), cost 2.5x more on average and put tons of pollutants into the fragile aquaculture environment of the malostonski canal. The EUR 36 million

cost of implementing the ferry boat option (EUR 12 million in construction works and EUR 24 million for two large ferry boats) would be borne by

the Croatian government directly or indirectly via state-owned Jadrolinija. Though construction of the ferry terminal and ferry boats (if built in

Croatia) would provide the same PDV revenues, ongoing and annual PDV contribution from ferry operations would be 50% or less than that of

our floating bridge due to the capacity constraints of the ferry boats.

Bridge construction will create at least 100 new jobs until completion and provide €9 million in PDV over the next 10 months. Bridge operations

will require at least 20 fulltime employees earning an average net wage of €1622 per month and will provide the Government with approximately

€2 million annually in PDV generated from toll fares.

We hope that the attached presentation document provides a clear overview of the technology, beauty and value of our floating bridge proposal.

We hope that it is clear that our proposal meets and exceeds the requirements of Croatia’s EU accession and the goals of the Dubrovnik-Neretva

County. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our proposal with you in person at your convenience.

We look forward to leading the implementation of this safe, cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and permanent solution in the Dubrovnik-

Neretva County.

Sincerely,

Maja Bručić i James Price Chuck