Kings Bay (company)

Kings Bay AS

Company type	State owned
Industry	Infrastructure
Founded	1916
Headquarters	Ny-Ålesund,Norway
Area served	Svalbard
Key people	Ole Charles Ryder Øiseth(CEO)
Revenue	36.8 millionkr(2005)
Net income	0.2 millionkr(2005)
Number of employees	32 (2007)
Parent	Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry

In the mine Agnes
Credit:Sigvald Moa

Kings Bay ASis a government enterprise owned by theNorwegian Ministry of Trade and Industrythat operates the entire settlement ofNy-ÅlesundonSvalbard.The settlement, the mostnortherly civilian settlement in the world,servesresearchstaff. The company provides the necessary infrastructure, such astransport(including the airportNy-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben),real estate,power and water supply,cateringand other facilities. The company is also responsible for administeringBjørnøen AS,a government enterprise that owns the entire island ofBjørnøya.In the summer the company also handlescruise shipsthat arrive at Ny-Ålesund.

The company was founded in 1916 asKings Bay Kull Companywith the intention of operating acoal mine.It was laternationalized,and in 1962 the mine closed in the context of a political crisis in Norway known as theKings Bay Affair(Kings Bay-saken). A research facility was subsequently set up in at Ny-Ålesund, to be run by the company.From 1964 to 1974, through an agreement with theEuropean Space Research Organisation(ESRO), the island housed a Norwegiansatellitetelemetrystation. Kings Bay resumed primary responsibility for facilities operations in 1974. In the 1990s, research activities expanded in Ny-Ålesund. In 1998Kings Bay Kull Compani ASchanged its name toKings Bay AS,removing the final reference to coal.