June 21, 2012: Another bit of Cold War surplus has just come on the market. Norway is selling one of its underground submarine bases, for $17.5 million. Located outside the city of Tromso, next to highway E8, the former Olavsvern Naval Base is basically a water level tunnel dug into a mountain at the mouth of a fjord (one of the many deep water channels that give the Norwegian coastline that heavily indented look). The tunnel can dock small warships or a submarine and has 25,000 square meters (269,000 square feet) of underground space. There are several tunnels down there, most of them dry. The above ground structures contain 13,500 square meters (145,000 square feet) of space.
The base is half a century old and was originally built at a cost of several hundred million dollars. Its industrial grade space that hasn't been used by anyone since the military moved out a decade ago. An adventurous, and wealthy, buyer is being sought.
