Around 600 jobs already created in Lithuania under Major Projects Initiative
Major investment project contracts awarded by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation in Lithuania have already created 586 jobs and €423.5 million in investments.
"Since the launch of the Green Corridor Initiative, we have already signed fourteen contracts for major investment projects. They will create more than 3,900 jobs and attract more than €1.25 billion in investment. We can already see the results - in three years we have attracted a significant number of investments and created more than half a thousand high value-added jobs," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
Teltonika EMS has already created 215 jobs and invested €21 million since signing a major investment project agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation to build a technology centre in Molėtai district. The Kėdainiai Free Economic Zone (FEZ) is also home to a factory of Pon.Bike, a leading Dutch bicycle manufacturer, which has already created 69 jobs and is due to start operations this summer.
VMG Technics has also signed an agreement to establish an Industrial Innovation Park in Klaipėda. It has already created 81 jobs and invested EUR 23.6 million.
Inno Line has also successfully created another 70 jobs and invested €64.5 million, and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation has signed a contract for a major investment project to build a new furniture factory in the Klaipėda region.
The Green Corridor initiative, developed by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and to be launched in 2021, will make it much easier and faster to locate in the area, while at the same time granting the project the status of a project of national importance and a 0% profit tax rate for a period of up to 20 years.
"This initiative makes a significant contribution to strengthening Lithuania's regions by providing incentives not only to investors but also to the communities that host them. It is also important that companies strengthen the Lithuanian economy by making efficient use of available raw materials and achieving their advanced production goals," said Karolis Žemaitis, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation has also simplified spatial planning, zoning and construction procedures for large projects that meet urgent national security and defence needs. This would enable such defence industries to start operations in Lithuania in the shortest possible time.
In addition, new requirements for large projects will enter into force on 1 July, according to which a large company must create between 20 and 149 new jobs, and between 20 and 199 new jobs in the case of an investment in Vilnius, and must ensure that the wage of the 20 jobs created by the investment project is at least equal to the average wage in the municipality where the investment is made, which is 1.25 euros.