The future military factory in the forests of Iecava municipality is expected to employ about 20 people and produce about 50,000 modular artillery charges per year, State Defense Corporation board member Inggrida Kirse told reporters on Thursday.
Construction of the factory began today, when a capsule with a message for the future was laid in the foundation of the building.
The future factory, surrounded by a barbed wire fence, is located relatively close to Riga, but is being built deep in the forest, a few kilometers from the nearest houses and main roads. The construction site is also near military areas that are used, among other things, for training.
The products of the factory are primarily intended for the Latvian armed forces, while the rest will be exported to partners in other NATO countries. The factory is expected to produce about 50,000 shells per year.
Only local workers will be employed at the factory. While the factory is under construction, the corporation will simultaneously begin assembling a production team that will consist of about 20-25 specialists of various levels. This work is expected to be completed by mid-summer, with the factory opening planned for the third quarter of this year.
Raw materials for the factory will be supplied by the corporation's foreign partners. Kirse emphasized that the project will be important not only in terms of securing the supply chains for ammunition but also for the Latvian economy. "Yes, it is expected that we will have turnover and profit," Kirse said, reminding that the majority of the project is financed by the Latvian state, while other investments come from the European Union.
In response to a question about the reasons for locating the future factory in such a secluded place, Kirse said that factories are generally not built in city centers, and since this is a military production project, safety requirements must be observed, which is why the facility is located away from populated areas.
The factory for the production of modular artillery shells for 155mm ammunition is being built in collaboration with the Finnish-Norwegian company "Nammo" and the French-Italian "KNDS".
The national funding for the project amounts to 26 million euros, while the European funding is 41 million euros.
The general contractor for the site is "UPB nams".
According to "Firmas.lv", the real beneficiaries of "UPB nams" are Uldis Pilens, Maris Mors, and Madara More. In 2024, the company's turnover was 49,381,583 euros, and the profit was 1,038,182 euros.
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