The Russian state-owned company Trust Arktikugol has expressed its interest in building a road connection between the settlement of Barentsburg and the long-abandoned ghost town of Colesbukta in a letter to the Norwegian authorities.
This is not a new request – the company had already proposed a similar plan several years ago. At that time, the goal was to open a new coal mine in the Grumant–Colesbukta area. However, the project failed due to financial difficulties and environmental concerns raised by the Norwegian authorities, who have repeatedly rejected plans for road construction.
The former editor of the local Svalbard newspaper ‘Svalbardposten,’ Birger Amundsen, reports that there has never been a clearly defined path there. Instead, the route was previously traversed only by tracked vehicles and off-road cars, which left marks in the tundra. These old tracks are now presented as an existing path in the current application.
In the past, there have already been several applications and letters to reuse the abandoned buildings in Colesbukta and resume activities there.
New signs have been installed indicating Russian interest in the area.
(Photo: Marcel Schütz)
Update will follow