The Rūdninkai military town will become the primary service location for the future German Brigade. This is the most ambitious military infrastructure project ever developed in the history of independent Lithuania. On 19 August 2024, a time capsule was placed at the Rūdninkai training area, marking the establishment of the Rūdninkai military town.
It is planned that the military town will occupy around 190 hectares of the Rūdninkai training area. It will accommodate both German and Lithuanian armed forces, a tent city and an outdoor camp. In the upcoming years there will be constructed:
- approximately 91,000 sq. m. of residential buildings
- around 84,000 sq. m. of administrative buildings, including administrative offices, company barracks, training classrooms, rest areas and more
- around 7,000 sq. m. of sports facilities
- around 80,000 sq. m. of technical buildings including warehouses, garages, a fuelling station, car wash stations and repair workshops
- around 300,000 sq. m. of paved areas in the compound, including internal roads, parade grounds, technical park zones and parking areas
Due to its exceptional size, the military town of Rūdnininkai is being developed in phases. During the first phase, administrative buildings, military vehicle maintenance and storage infrastructure (warehouses, parking areas, repair workshops, garages for vehicles), a guardhouse, barracks, a canteen and other facilities will be constructed. The first phase will cover almost 56,000 sq. m. of land, with construction work carried out by the Lithuanian company Eikos statyba.
In the second phase, the remaining infrastructure of the military town will be developed, covering an area of 170 hectares. This phase will be implemented through a public–private partnership (PPP) model and will include not only design and construction works, but also the maintenance of newly created infrastructure, engineering networks and systems. The project’s implementation period is set for 15 years, with 2.5 years dedicated to design and construction (development) and 12.5 years for the maintenance of the town and service provision.
All military infrastructure developed in the Rūdninkai training area will be owned by the Lithuanian state, and the Lithuanian Armed Forces will manage, use and dispose of it under a trust-based system.
Projects are also being developed in Rukla to meet the needs of the German Brigade and allied forces:
- The Neris Terrace I project is being implemented in collaboration with Germany
- The Neris Terrace II project is planned for development
- The start of operations for the permanent logistics area is planned for the second quarter of 2025
- Ammunition storage facilities are being constructed, with their operational start planned for mid-2025
- Renovation design work for the training battalion barracks is underway. These barracks will accommodate soldiers from the German-led NATO eFP Multinational Battlegroup
Logistical support infrastructure for the German Brigade is also being developed in other locations in Lithuania.