Nauseda welcomes DEMZ plans for ammunition facilities in Lithuania

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda welcomed plans by Ukrainian defence company Dnipro Electromechanical Plant (DEMZ) to invest in Lithuania and establish production and assembly facilities for defence ammunition components.

"By actively supporting Ukraine, Lithuania is strengthening their defence as well as our own country and the entire eastern flank. Today we see that our support for Ukraine is also yielding clear economic dividends," the president said in a statement issued by his office.

Nauseda said the major investment agreement, signed on Friday in Vilnius between the Lithuanian government and DEMZ, would boost economic activity and expertise in Alytus and the Prienai district and create numerous new jobs.

Under the agreement, the Ukrainian company will produce ammunition and ordnance components in Lithuania. The investment is expected to create up to 450 new jobs in the region. The total value of the DEMZ investment has not been disclosed.

Construction of the plant in the Prienai district is scheduled to begin this autumn, with production expected to start by the end of next year.

The facility will be built near Balbieriskis, on a 30.6-hectare plot in the village of Azuolai. The site is the only one in the Prienai district included in the National Land Service's list of state plots reserved for investment.

DEMZ is a major supplier of defence goods to the Ukrainian military. Since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the company has shifted its operations from civilian to military production. The company has branches across Ukraine and employs approximately 4,000 people.