The Adriatic Group, in collaboration with Lotus Architecti, has developed a proposal for the Marko Polo Bridge to fulfill Croatia’s requirement of territorial cohesion prior to July 2013 EU accession. It would be the longest floating bridge in Europe and cost $50 million, which would be funded by private investors.

1. 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.

2. 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

4. TARGET SITE IS IDEAL
FOR FLOATING BRIDGE
• Deep water; soft sea floor
• Calm surface with little wind; mild water currents and small tidal variation
• Little to no large boat traffic
Sources: Stanford University Center for Turbulence Research; Dartmouth College School of Engineering;
Hrvatski hidrometeorološki zavod

6. SOLUTION WITHOUT COMPROMISE
• 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 Croatia
• No additional real estate required,
thus no one can profit from BiH
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
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

8. 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

10. PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION
Four components of bridge:
1
1. Access roads and toll plazas
2. Approach bridges 3 2
4
3. Pontoon bridge
4. Large vessel gate (center)
Success will require close 2 3
collaboration between Hrvatske
Ceste, The Adriatic Group, Lotus
Architecti, Marinetek and Investors.
1

12. SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT VALUE
+ 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

14. CONFIRMATION FROM MARINETEK OF ABILITY
TO CONSTRUCT PONTOON BRIDGE

15. MARINETEK CREDENTIALS
Croatian Boat Registry ISO 9001 ISO 14001

16. FOR MORE INFORMATION,
PLEASE CONTACT:
JAMES PRICE CHUCK
E: JAMESPRICECHUCK@THEADRIATICGROUP.COM
MAJA BRUČIĆ
E: MAJA@LOTUSARCHITECTI.COM
Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNSkMIgFxMo
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.

17. APPENDIX

18. 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