A plot in the Arctic can be bought for €300 million.
On Svalbard exhibited for sale is the last piece of land left in private ownership, which “has an important ecological, scientific and economic value”. The rest of the archipelago is divided between Norway and Russia.
They are asking €300 million for the land.
“The opportunity to buy land on one of the world-famous islands of Svalbard is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Will Mathews, head of the agricultural department of the Knight Frank consulting company, told Euronews Business.
Strategic location
Geopolitical competition in the region between the USA, Russia and China is palpable, recently Moscow has been conducting military operations here more often.
The volume of commercial transportation through the Arctic is also increasing. The melting of sea ice caused by climate change is opening the way for new sources of oil, gas and minerals.
Svalbard is of exceptional strategic importance as it is “essentially the gateway to the Arctic”.
One of the northernmost settlements in the world
Svalbard, located between mainland Norway and the North Pole, is one of the northernmost inhabited places in the world.
Almost 3,000 people live on the nine main islands of the archipelago, which even has its own university. The famous World Seed Store is also located here. And if earlier the territory depended mainly on the coal industry, today scientific research and tourism have become important industries.
The plot put up for sale is called Sera-Fagerfjord. It is located on the land of Wedel-Jarlsberg in West Svalbard. Its area is about 60 square kilometers, which is almost ten times larger than Gibraltar.
When a similar situation arose in 2014 and a Chinese buyer was interested in a private facility, it was acquired by Oslo.
A place for “conservation and philanthropy”
About 60% of the territory of the archipelago is covered by glaciers. There are many mountains and fjords. The archipelago has an arctic climate, although the temperature here is much higher than in other areas at the same latitude.
Svalbard is a nesting place for many seabirds, polar bears, reindeer, sandpipers and marine mammals live here. From April 20 to August 22, the sun shines 24 hours a day on the archipelago.
Seven national parks and 23 nature reserves occupy two-thirds of the territory.
“This is an excellent investment by a wealthy individual who is genuinely interested in the future preservation of this diverse landscape,” Knight Frank believes.
Temperatures in the Arctic continue to rise three times faster than in other regions. The plot is being sold due to climate change causing less sea ice and more rain on Svalbard.
Who can buy land?
“The land will be sold to the one who offers the highest price,” Bloomberg quotes a lawyer who represents the interests of the sellers, lawyer Pera Kinglingstad.
The only restriction: the buyer must be from a country that has ratified the Svalbard Treaty.
“We are in talks with a group of wealthy people from around the world, all of whom are passionate about conservation and philanthropy,” Will Matthews of Knight Frank told Euronews. various flora and fauna of local places”.