Canadian-Backed Firm CanBalt Plans €500M Defence Park in Central Lithuania

A Canadian-backed real estate and infrastructure firm, CanBalt Ventures, is moving forward with plans to develop a defence industry and logistics park in central Lithuania, with total investment expected to reach approximately €500 million.

Registered in Vilnius in 2021, the company intends to build the complex on a 180-hectare site in the village of Tabala, near the town of Jonava. Several agricultural plots have already been acquired, and rezoning procedures for industrial and warehousing use are underway.

According to Jonava Deputy Mayor Povilas Beisys, the park will 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.

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. According to Lithuania's Centre of Registers, the company reported no revenue through 2024. Its 2025 financial report has not yet been filed.