Salva Monte Brè

First of all, let’s remind ourselves of something important: the real estate project described hereafter – and on this Website in general – is very real indeed.

1. The project has a name (“Lago Maggiore Grand”) and a Website anyone can consult.
2. The promoters have already spent 30 million Swiss francs (7 million cash and 23 million debt) to acquire tens of thousands of square meters of buildable plots in Monte Brè.
3. The promoters are still acquiring land; the last transaction took place on October 24th, 2018.
4. The promoters financed and carried out a 6 month long feasibility study (concluded in January 2018).
5. The promoters have already negotiated a contract with an international hotel operator.
6. The promoters have themselves declared, to the newspaper Il Café on September 30th 2018: “what happened will not stop us” and “any delay would only depend on us”.
7. The speculative company’s founder and majority shareholder gave an interview about the real estate project to a specialized industry outlet.
8. The equity prospectus, authentic and undisputed, may be downloaded from our Website.
9. Several journalists have already confirmed the truthfulness of our claims and the legitimacy of our concerns.
10. The promoters have already designated and contracted the architect for the project, who has already published preliminary designs.
11. The promoters are currently finalizing an investment round of CHF 24 million, in order to start building in 2019.

Our action, barely 3 months old, has already set a precedent in Ticino. The support we are receiving is almost unanimous. The merit is not ours: it is always easier, when one takes cause for the truth. We are also extremely lucky the “Lago Maggiore Grand” is so caricatural, pharaonical and grotesque in its barbarity.

Indeed no congratulation is appropriate, as the speculators have not yet renounced. As long as they don’t list the acquired properties back on the market, and publicly abandon their sinister ambition, we will continue to scrutinize and document their actions. Our effort, still focused on public information and sensibilisation, is about to take a political dimension.

For your own curiosity, here is the “Lago Maggiore Grand” in a few figures. To appreciate them correctly, it is important to know about the situation of Monte Brè, its remoteness, and its sinuous narrow 5 km road that connects it to the world.

• According to the prospectus, the promoters plan on building approximately 27’000 square meters of surface between Monte Brè and Colmanicchio. Counting 2 tons per m², that would mean transporting 54’000 tons of material, which represents 6’750 round trips of trucks transporting 8 tons (13’500 transits). With 220 working days per year, that would amount to 20 heavy truck transits per day every day for 3 years. That doesn’t include demolition of existing homes, transporting of machinery, workers, etc.
• The promoters are planning 65 hotel rooms and 90 residences (appartments and villas), 3’000 m² of spa, an indoor swimming pool, 2 restaurants, and a tennis court. For a total of 155 rooms and residences, an occupation rate of 60%, and 2.2 occupants in average per party, that amounts to 200 additional people living on the territory between Monte Brè and Colmanicchio. That means multiplying the mountain’s population by 2 or by 3.
• According to the OFS, the average Swiss consumes 200 liters of fresh water per day (not counting industry or agriculture). It seems reasonable to double that quantity, given the nature of this “maxi-resort”, its spa, swimming pool, and 2 restaurants. For 200 people, that means an additional 80’000 liters (80 m³) of fresh water necessary every day. All the water on that mountain comes from a spring.
• In terms of waste water, 80’000 liters per day, assuming continuous flow over 16 hours, represents an additional 5’000 liters per hour, or 83 liters per minute. The Colmanicchio site, where the hotel and spa are planned, is not connected to the sewer.
• 200 people, if every person does only 2 round trips per week, that means 115 additional transits per day. If every person does only 1 round trip per week, that amounts to 57 additional transits per day.
• A large 5-star hotel operation, with apartments, swimming pool and spa, means a lot of trucks. Assuming trash collection, deliveries to the hotel & spa, to the restaurants, to the residences, transport of employees, and miscellaneous maintenance, that would amount to 5-8 additional daily round-trips, or 10 to 16 additional commercial transits per day.
• 200 people, if every person requires only 15 kWh daily, that means 3 MWh of additional energy supply per day. The tension available in Monte Brè is 12 kilovolts.

One last thing: the promoters are planning to file, as early as May/June 2019, building permit applications incrementally – i.e. without revealing the integrated nature of the project, or the nature of the links between the sites/companies. That intention should have remained secret until the end of the construction.

Fortunately, we know their intentions’ real nature and scope.

Help us prevent it.