A buyer has been found for a large plot of land put up for sale in Spitsbergen

A buyer has finally been found for a large plot of land in the Arctic Ocean archipelago of Spitsbergen, which was put up for sale in 2024. The buyers are ready to pay the asking price of 300 million euros for the land, if the Norwegian government does not cancel the deal for geopolitical reasons. This was reported by Bloomberg.

It is known that among the buyers are not only Norwegians, but also other international investors. They aim to protect the purchased territory from long-term environmental changes. At the same time, among the buyers are citizens of NATO member countries and states that signed the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty.

However, the buyers of this plot of land have not yet started official negotiations with the Norwegian government on a deal. At the same time, it is also emphasized that it is necessary to reach an agreement with the government regarding the purchase of this territory.

This area in the Spitsbergen archipelago is located 65 kilometers from the city of Longyearbyen, and its area is approximately 6 thousand hectares. This is, for comparison, the same as the area of ​​​​Manhattan in the USA.

When the land was put up for sale, it was stated that this decision was due to climate change, in particular, the rapid melting of ice in the Spitsbergen region. Some experts at that time expressed concerns that this territory could be used by Russia to increase cargo routes and energy reserves. Therefore, the Norwegian government announced that it would strictly monitor this transaction process from the point of view of national security.

There are also a number of serious restrictions on the use of the land: buyers must unconditionally comply with the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty. According to it, the archipelago is strictly prohibited from being used for military purposes. This agreement was signed by more than 40 countries around the world, including Russia, the USA, China and Great Britain.

100 years ago, this area was owned by a company called Aktieselskabet Kulspids, owned by a wealthy family living in Oslo. The names of the company's shareholders were not disclosed, but it was reported that they were all Norwegian citizens.

For information, the Spitsbergen archipelago is located in the Arctic Ocean and has a total area of ​​​​61 thousand square kilometers. 60% of its territory is covered by permanent ice. The population of the archipelago is approximately 3 thousand people as of 2020. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!