YIT to build tank assembly plant in Kaunas for around €30m

Finnish construction group YIT announced on 27 July 2026 that it had signed a contract to build an assembly and maintenance plant for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone. The client is state-owned UAB Lithuania Defence Services; the contract, worth around €30m, will be booked in YIT's third-quarter order intake. A main production hall and ancillary buildings will be built on almost ten hectares, where a large share of Lithuania's future tank fleet is to be assembled and maintained over the long term. Construction starts in August 2026 and is scheduled for completion in November 2027; the project uses a design-and-build model with building information modelling, and the plant is to meet Lithuania's highest A++ energy efficiency class. The source cites YIT itself as well as Army Recognition and Finnish broadcaster Yle.