In the last year, more than one manufacturer has seen increases in the demand for bomb shelters. Having received hundreds of quote requests and some orders from all over Europe. Plus, you would be surprised at the costs and how quickly one can be set up.
International Interest
Minus Energie owner, Giulio Cavicchioli, says the Italian company has gone from working on 50 bunkers in the past 22 years to dealing with 500 inquiries in the past two weeks alone.
Since the start of the Ukrainian invasion, French company Artemis Protection has received 500 quote requests and 15 orders. Of which 30 came in over just 24 hours. Of the company’s clients, 85% come from France and the remainder come from Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Poland. Although founder Mathieu Séranne adds that there has also recently been an increase in bomb shelter demand from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
While the UK based company, Subterranean Spaces, reports a 100% increase in enquiries in the last year. And in just the two days after the start of the Ukrainian invasion, Subterranean Spaces received 12 enquiries. ‘People have even been asking if we supply kit formations, basically DIY shelters’, adds founder Charles Hardman.
Even Texas-based company Rising S Bunkers has experienced a 1000% surge in demand coming from the UK, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan and the US.
The Costs
Not everyone will be able to afford one these snazzy looking bomb shelters. However many people are still willing to invest in something along these lines, especially insight of recent global events. To start, the Covid-19 pandemic had everyone a bit nervous, and now we face a major war which includes a country with noteworthy nuclear power.
The size and amenities will of course affect the price of the bunker. But to give you an idea, with Artemis Protection you would be looking at around R2.5 million for the most basic 22 m² shelter. Said to have capacity for four, they prefabricate the shelter in the factory then deliver and install. Estimated production time is five weeks. The shelter includes:
- Access by hatch with hydraulic cylinders
- Armored door standard FB4
- Military-grade air filtration
- Bathroom, kitchen, TV lounge
- Mezzanine bedroom
- Emergency exit with retractable ladder
While shelters from Hardman’s Subterranean Spaces start at around £100,000. With extensive bunkers including features such as video game simulators, kitchens, and air filtration systems costing as much as £900,000. This company’s shelters take around four months to plan and build. Although Hardman adds that the bunkers should ideally be set up in a garden and not under a house. ‘What’s the point of surviving a nuclear blast if the house collapses on top of the bunker and you can’t get out?’, he says.
