Rheinmetall is investing more than €180 million to build an ammunition plant in Lithuania.

The Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, has signed an agreement delineating the arrival of Rheinmetall, the German military industry giant, to Lithuania.

Rheinmetall is also expected to create at least 150 new jobs.

“It will help us to ensure uninterrupted access to essential weapons and ammunition, as the products that European defense needs will be produced on Lithuanian soil,” Minister Armonaitė said.

The plant is expected to produce tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition per year.

The project has been granted the status of national importance, and its location will be announced in the coming weeks.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Julius Skačkauskas said last week that construction of the Rheinmetall plant was to be started in October.

“We are grateful to have been selected by Lithuania as a partner of the defense industry. We are pleased to be able to make a contribution to national sovereignty in the field of ammunition,” said Maximilian Froch, Head of Strategic Programme Organisation International at Rheinmetall AG.

To ensure Lithuania’s security, the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation has also initiated legal amendments that facilitate the development of large-scale projects.

The amendments simplify territorial planning, land procurement, and construction procedures. This will enable manufacturers in the defense industry to launch operations in Lithuania in the shortest possible time.

The Green Corridor initiative for large-scale investment projects makes it easier and quicker for investors to set up operations in Lithuania, granting their project a status of state importance and a 0% corporate tax rate for a period up to 20 years.

In May, in the Romanian city of Mediaș, the German concern Rheinmetall opened a defense plant that will support Ukraine’s military vehicles.