The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence has launched a new military campus in Rokantiškės to boost its military presence in the Vilnius district.
The 17.7-hectare (177,000 square-meter) campus incorporates administrative and special purpose facilities to establish a military arm in the area, as Rokantiškės has only been relying on coordination between local units and national military management.
It includes barracks, headquarters, medical hubs, indoor and outdoor fitness gyms, a club area with a chapel, and technical buildings.
After its inauguration, the center will house the Duke Vaidotas Infantry Battalion and accommodate visiting troops from strategic partners during missions and exercises.
The defense agency wrote that the total investment for the Rokantiškės campus project, including construction, sustainment, and other services, amounts to approximately 74 million euros ($79.4 million).
Work for the site was facilitated through the government’s Public-Private Partnership framework. The contract was signed with property management company Darnu Group.
“Moving in the vicinity of Vilnius means our temporary stationing Marijampolė has ended and we have a permanent base finally,” Duke Vaidotas Infantry Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Irmantas Petraitis stated.
“The campus offers every kind of infrastructure a battalion needs to ensure proper conditions for professional military service and Continuous Mandatory Military Service recruits.”
Battalion Infrastructure Program
The center is part of a broader 231-million-euro ($247.9 million) program to develop infrastructure for three battalion-sized units across the country to meet modern requirements.
Alongside Rokantiškės, locations selected for the plan include Pajūris Town and Šiauliai.
“We will have plenty of work to do not just for now but also in the future in order to build a stronger defence, security, resilience, and the Armed Forces, as well as to provide the conditions of sufficient quality for a NATO military and to our partners who deploy here for training and will come on a permanent basis,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė stated.
“A proper infrastructure is important so that servicemembers can feel the care of their home country, the evident focus on their welfare, the respect and the aim to provide respectable conditions of service each day.”