Americans blocked from building embassy in Norway
Posted by africanpress on February 4, 2008
The US Embassy in Oslo will be staying where it is for a while longer.
PHOTO: JAN TOMAS ESPEDAL
New US embassy on ice
Plans to build a new, more secure, US embassy on open space northwest of downtown Oslo are back on hold, after city politicians voted against issuing a building permit. The US ambassador to Norway is disappointed.
So are neighbours of the existing embassy, which has stirred controversy for years for being a terrorist target just across the street from the Royal Palace. Residents and businesses located near the US embassy have long wanted it to move out of its prime downtown location.
Few dispute a relocation, but the site finally chosen for a new embassy has sparked the ire of its prospective neighbours. They are carrying on a legal battle to prevent its construction on one of the city’s last remaining areas of open space at Huseby, not far from the busy Smedstad intersection.
City officials opted this week to wait until the legal battle is over. No building permits will be granted until a final decision is made on the Huseby site.
Lifted and published by Korir, API africanpress@getmail.no source.aftenpostenEng
