This EU-funded project is helping to turn a Soviet-era military installation spanning 8.8 hectares in north-eastern Lithuania into an industrial park and space for small and medium-sized businesses. The aim is to create local jobs, potentially for some of the 2 000 workers still employed at the decommissioned Ignalina nuclear power plant, located 10 km outside the town of Visaginas.
- 30 July 2020
An investment of this size in the SMART park area is not only a job creator, but also a way to attract other investors. One should greatly appreciate our vocational training centre, which can prepare professionals for a particular area, for a particular investor. I think we are well on the path to developing our industrial sphere.
So far, the project’s main activities have been completed: the site has been cleaned up and prepared for construction and the administrative building was rebuilt. The construction of roads and related transport infrastructure on the site is scheduled for completion in the autumn of 2020.
One of the world’s leading manufacturers of respiratory support devices is investing EUR 10 million to construct a factory on the site. In addition, a Smart Park, a 777 m2 space able to accommodate about 10 small and medium-sized businesses, was built on the site.
The project is intended to contribute to the development of industrial activity in Visaginas by attracting businesses and other investors, and by creating jobs for local residents and employees of the nuclear power plant, who could soon be out of work. The plant’s two reactors were shut down in 2004 and 2009 respectively.
Training
The investor already has a factory in Pabrade, about 100 km from Visaginas, where over 200 Visaginas residents work. Lithuania’s main training school, the Visaginas Technology and Business Vocational Training Centre, signed a cooperation agreement with the Pabrade factory in 2016 to start training workers in mechatronics and automatic systems. This will enable some of these workers to be employed at the new factory in Visaginas once it starts production.
In 2018, 23 people received training in mechatronics (a multidisciplinary branch of engineering that includes electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering); in 2019, 14 were trained in mechatronics and 10 in locksmithing; and in 2019-2020, 57 in mechatronics and 14 in machine working.
To facilitate this, train schedules were adapted to ensure better public transport connections between Visaginas and the Pabrade factory. This required cooperation between national authorities and municipalities.
Soviet-era legacy
The site, previously used by the Soviet army, had to be cleaned up and buildings demolished. A lack of information on factors like the potential contamination of the site and underground structures presented difficulties and increased the volume of work, which required extra funding.
No chemical contamination was found during the clean-up of the site. Initially, the intention was to remove foundation structures up to a depth of 0.5 m. Subsequently, the depth had to be increased and the area levelled once again, to prepare the site for handing over to the investor.
Partnerships ensure success
The project partners include the training centre, Lithuanian Railways, the ministries of the interior and the economy, the national investment promotion agency ‘Invest Lithuania’, the Visaginas municipality, the regional development council of the Utena region, and the private investor.
The project’s success depends on factors outside the project’s scope, such as the ability to train workers to supply the investor with skilled staff, and the ability to secure land lease and spatial planning agreements. Aware of the project’s strategic importance, the municipality and national authorities have played a key role in ensuring a positive outcome on these fronts.
Invest Lithuania helped facilitate talks between the central government, the municipality and the private investor. Expert assistance was provided on land lease procedures, revision of land use planning documents and investment project design.
The project is being implemented by the Visaginas municipality as part of Lithuania’s regional policy framework – the Utena region ITI programme. This is one of 10 regional programmes aimed at integrated development of small and medium cities.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “(Demolition of derelict buildings and site clean-up to regenerate former military campus” is EUR 2 967 711, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 2 333 555 through the “Operational Programme for EU Structural Funds Investments for 2014-2020” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility”.