A Canadian-backed real estate and infrastructure company is planning to develop a defence industry and logistics park in central Lithuania, with total investment expected to reach around 500 million euros.
CanBalt Ventures , registered in Vilnius in 2021, intends to build the complex on a 180-hectare site in the village of Tabala, near the town of Jonava. Several agricultural plots on the site have already been acquired, and procedures to rezone the land for industrial and warehousing use are under way.
According to Jonava Deputy Mayor Povilas Beisys, the park would integrate industrial plants, laboratories and research facilities with the existing military infrastructure at nearby Rukla, home to a Lithuanian Armed Forces base.
"The project combines large-scale investment, high-value-added jobs, engineering and laboratory expertise and research partnerships within the existing Jonava-Rukla defence ecosystem," he said.
The municipality estimates the development could create between 200 and 500 jobs, many requiring high qualifications and offering salaries above the regional average. Local authorities also expect increased tax revenues and infrastructure investment as a result.
CanBalt describes itself as focusing on defence and strategic infrastructure across the Baltic states, with investments spanning ammunition production, defence systems and other strategic technologies aimed at strengthening Nato's eastern flank. Specific investment figures for the company's own contribution have not been disclosed.
Further progress depends on environmental impact assessments, followed by technical design and construction permits. No construction timeline has yet been set.
The company reported no revenue through 2024, according to Lithuania's Centre of Registers. Its 2025 financial report has not yet been filed.
LRT English Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
Read the full article at LRT (English) →
LT