Norway wants to build new air shelters in case of war

OSLO: Norway said Friday it wants to reintroduce mandatory construction of air raid shelters in new buildings, one of around 100 proposals aimed at boosting preparedness in case of war.

Norway, a Nato member that shares a northern border with Russia, scrapped this requirement in 1998 following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

“In the future, we should take into consideration and be ready to manage crises and wars,” said Norway’s justice minister Emilie Enger Mehl, whose dossier also includes emergency preparedness.

Mehl made her remarks as she presented a white paper on Norway’s preparedness together with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The centre-left government suggested reintroducing a requirement for all large buildings to be equipped with air raid shelters, noting that the war in Ukraine highlighted their need.

According to the government, Norway currently has enough air raid shelters to accommodate around 45% of its population, compared to 90% in Finland, 80% in Denmark and 70% in Sweden.

The government also wants to increase the number of people available in the civilian defence force from 8,000 to 12,000 and improve its food self-reliance to 50% by 2030.

It also proposed a reflection on how to better coordinate public and private cyber efforts, develop a new disinformation strategy and strengthen controls over land ownership.

Norwegian media have in recent years revealed how foreigners, notably Russians, have bought up land near sensitive sites such as military bases.

In addition to the threat of war, the document is aimed at anticipating the risk of sabotage, hybrid warfare and cyber-attacks, as well as pandemics and extreme weather events.

While noting that the geopolitical situation was “more tense”, Store said “we do not see any imminent military threat against Norwegian territory.”

Because his government has a minority in parliament, the text will need the support of opposition parties to be adopted, which means some changes may be made.