Dental hospital planned for Bergen

The Bergen / Vestland news of the past 48 hours mixes public announcements, financial pressures and local life. The government is allocating millions of kroner for a new dental hospital in Solheimsviken, Bergen, while the Nordic Mining group is demanding a new emergency loan of 60 million kroner. On the ground, a section of the E16 between Voss and Vinje has been upgraded, and a research centre dedicated to care for people with addiction was presented in Engen.

Bergen / Vestland news: a dental hospital in Solheimsviken

The government is allocating several million kroner to a new "tannsykehus" — a dental hospital — in Solheimsviken, Bergen (Bergens Tidende, 21 October). The information was published on Wednesday morning by the regional daily, which does not detail the exact amount of the envelope.

The announcement comes as national dental reform plans are being debated in Norway (The Local Norway). The future facility is to be built in the Solheimsviken neighbourhood, in the municipality of Bergen, in Vestland county. According to Bergens Tidende, the state is covering part of the project's funding.

Nordic Mining seeks a new emergency loan

Nordic Mining is asking its lenders for a new short-term loan of up to 60 million kroner to cover its bills (NRK Bergen / Vestland). In a stock exchange announcement published on Tuesday evening, the company described the situation of its subsidiary "Engebø Rutil og Garnet" as "critical".

The company had initially obtained a postponement of its debt and interest payments until 15 October. That deadline passed without a permanent agreement being reached. Nordic Mining is now asking bondholders to vote in favour of a package of temporary measures.

The planned financing would rely on a new investor and on existing lenders, at an interest rate of 17.5%. The company is also asking for a postponement of interest payments and waivers from its loan conditions for an additional period (NRK Bergen / Vestland).

A research centre for the care of people with addiction in Engen

In Engen, in central Bergen, a new research centre is to work on better organising health services for people facing addiction (NRK Bergen / Vestland). The project was presented on Tuesday 20 October.

Rune, 62, has been on LAR treatment for 23 years. He describes a difficult relationship between many patients and the health system: "There is a lot of stigmatisation. Many feel they do not receive good help," he told NRK. He points to appointments that arrive by post, appointment times and consultation venues that are hard to identify. "It is especially the younger ones who often give up," he adds.

For him, bringing services together under one roof could reduce practical barriers for people with addiction in Vestland county and elsewhere in the country (NRK Bergen / Vestland).

E16: three more kilometres up to standard between Voss and Vinje

The Åsbrekkegjelet – Skromle Bru section, on the E16 between Voss and Vinje, now has eight metres of width and a yellow centre line (NRK Bergen / Vestland). The inauguration took place this week in the presence of Svenn Egil Finden, department director at Statens vegvesen, who cut the ribbon.

"We have secured it against landslides, widened it and reinforced the centre marking, which makes for a safer road," he told NRK. The section, which runs alongside the Strandaelvi in Voss, was narrow and exposed to landslides as well as accidents. "The road has the width it should have given the traffic," Svenn Egil Finden said. Vestland county still has many kilometres of European routes without a yellow centre line (NRK Bergen / Vestland).

Sport: Åsane secures its season, Kvamme hangs up her boots

The Åsane football club has secured the liquidity needed to ensure its operations until the end of 2026, the club said on its website (NRK Bergen / Vestland). The management said the administration and the board are working on sustainable frameworks for 2027, with "sobriety and financial responsibility" as guiding principles, and that next season's sporting resources will depend on the commitment of the local business community.

For her part, Cecilie Redisch Kvamme is ending her football career, she confirmed on the SK Brann pages (NRK Bergen / Vestland). Injured in the ankle during the match against Aalesund on 4 October, she had surgery: that game remained the last of her career. Having played for Arna-Bjørnar and Sandviken in the Toppserien, as well as West Ham in England, she earned 5 national team caps and finishes with 103 matches and 10 goals for Brann, including a home Champions League match against Barcelona.

In Sogndal, a folkehøgskule that is increasingly international

American Sonja Oksnevad, originally from Minnesota, has been a student at the Sogndal folkehøgskule since the start of the school year (NRK Bergen / Vestland). She says she wanted to do "something a little crazy" before choosing a direction, and that she discovered the school through a friend from the same ski club.

One in five students there is international. While Norwegian folkehøgskular saw a marked drop in applications after the pandemic, the schools are recording a rebound in foreign enrolments: they have nearly doubled in ten years, according to figures from the Utdanningsdirektoratet cited by NRK. This year's figures are also looking good, according to the director of the Informasjonskontoret.

📌 Local briefs

At Romarheimsfjorden, north-east of Bergen, Kurt Nottveit is denouncing the waves caused by tourist boats coming from Bergen: they are damaging walls and riverside properties, and he, along with other residents, is calling for a speed limit (NRK Bergen / Vestland).

A public meeting devoted to a planned data centre in Gaupne drew a large audience (NRK Bergen / Vestland).

Many motorists drove on summer tyres on winter roads last winter, reports Bergens Tidende.

Sources: NRK Bergen / Vestland, Bergens Tidende, The Local Norway — Period: 20 October 2026 and 21 October 2026