PayPal founder Peter Thiel is leading a project to create an independent nation that will float in international waters and operate within its own laws. The world’s first floating nation, set to appear in the Pacific Ocean off the island of Tahiti in 2020, is designed to ‘liberate humanity from politicians’.

The radical project is being executed by the Seasteading Institute, a nonprofit with a diverse global team of marine biologists, nautical engineers, aquaculture farmers, maritime attorneys, medical researchers, security personnel, investors, environmentalists, and artists.

The first island is being funded by a coin offering, a new concept gaining popularity in Silicon Valley in which money is ‘crowd sourced’ by creating and selling a virtual currency.

According to a feasibility report by Dutch engineering firm Deltasync, the first city would be built on a network of 11 rectangular and five-sided platforms so it could be rearranged according to its inhabitants’ needs like a floating jigsaw.

The square and pentagon platforms will measure 164 ft in length and will have 164 ft-tall sides to protect buildings and residents. The platforms will be made from reinforced concrete and support three-storey buildings such as apartments, terraces, offices and hotels for up to 100 years.

The nonprofit hopes to raise around $60 million by 2020 to build a dozen buildings.

The Daily Mail reports:

“Floating islands would feature aquaculture farms, healthcare, medical research facilities, and sustainable energy powerhouses. The structures will feature ‘green roofs’ covered with vegetation and construction will use local bamboo, coconut fibre, wood and recycled metal and plastic. It’s envisaged that between 250 and 300 people will call the first floating city home.”

The Institute adds:

“Our in-house team is now actively engaged in diplomacy with host nations, making the case that hosting an autonomous seastead city in their territorial waters would produce significant economic, social and environmental benefits for their citizens.

“The floating city would create an environment that encourages innovation and start-up governments, rather than the ‘monopolies’ of today. It will give people the freedom to choose the government they want instead of being stuck with the government they get.”

Source antinewsnw