Kings Bay AS is a government enterprise owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry

Ministry of Trade and Industry (Norway)

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry is a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It is led by Trond Giske . The department must report to the legislature, Storting.-History:The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries was created...

 that operates the entire settlement of Ny-Ålesund

Ny-Ålesund

Ny-Ålesund is one of the four permanent settlements on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. It is located on the Brøgger peninsula at Kongsfjorden...

 on Svalbard

Svalbard

Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...

. The settlement, the most northerly in the world serves research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 staff. The company provides the necessary infrastructure, such as transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

 (including the airport Ny-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben), real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

, power- and water supply, catering

Catering

Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...

 and other facilities.

The company is also responsible for administrating Bjørnøen AS

Bjørnøen

Bjørnøen AS is a Norwegian government enterprise that owns all land and some heritage buildings on the uninhabited overseas territory of Bjørnøya. The company is managed by Kings Bay AS, and does not have any employees...

, a government enterprise that owns the entire island of Bjørnøya (Bear Island). In the summer the company also handles cruise ship

Cruise ship

A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

s that arrive at Ny-Ålesund.

History

It was in 1916 that the company was founded, as Kings Bay Kull Company with the intention of operating a coal mine. It was later nationalized

Nationalization

Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...

, and in 1962 the mine closed in the context of a political crisis in Norway known as the Kings Bay Affair

Kings Bay Affair

The Kings Bay Affair was a political issue in Norway that reached its apex in 1963 and brought down the government of Einar Gerhardsen and formed the basis for non-socialist coalition politics in Norway that persisted to the end of the 20th century....

. A research facility was subsequently set up in at Ny-Ålesund, to be run by the company.