The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has abandoned its decision to request court-appointed valuation experts to assess the value of assets saved by the construction of the protective barriers near Grindavík.
The Fjármála- og efnahagsráðuneytið (Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs) has withdrawn its request for court-appointed valuation experts to assess how much [financial] value the protective barriers at Grindavík and Svartsengi have saved.
Instead, Náttúruhamfaratrygging Íslands (Iceland Catastrophe Insurance) has offered to obtain an expert assessment of the usefulness of the barriers. This is stated on the website of Stjórnarráðið (Government Offices of Iceland).
An evaluation will be carried out of which interests were protected by their construction and how such organised preventive measures can reduce damage costs in disasters of a similar nature.
Experts in Iceland will be consulted, along with earth scientists from international reinsurance companies with specialist knowledge of risk calculations.
The estimated cost of the protective barriers is around ISK 11.000.000.000, but they are estimated to have saved assets, infrastructure and operations worth far more.
Last summer the ministry began examining whether those who had protected their interests in the area might be expected to contribute to the cost.
The energy company HS Orka and Náttúruhamfaratrygging Íslands received a letter at the end of June 2025 from the ministry’s lawyer stating the view that those who had benefited from these measures should pay.
HS Orka and Náttúruhamfaratrygging Íslands considered that this idea from the government lacked a legal basis and would lead to court proceedings.
As Náttúruhamfaratrygging Íslands is carrying out the assessment, the decision to have court-appointed valuation experts evaluate the interests protected by the construction of the barriers has therefore been dropped.
It is expected that the situation will be reassessed once the expert opinion commissioned by Náttúruhamfaratrygging Íslands is available.
Source: Ruv.is
