Albania courts NATO investors to revive Soviet-era munitions plants

WARSAW, Poland — Albanian Defense Minister Niko Peleshi has announced that the country’s government aims to relaunch its three dormant weapon and ammunition production facilities amid military conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. The ministry intends to attract foreign investors to allow the companies to roll out new products.

“Revitalization will be a process aimed at promoting innovation. We no longer pretend that the industry will be developed by the state, but by attracting investors from NATO,” the official said on April 17 at the Albanian parliament.

With this development, the Albanian government is joining a growing number of European countries who have intensified efforts to ramp up ammunition production in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Peleshi said that the Defense Ministry has already kicked off work on the project to revive the three factories, collaborating with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. Tirana aims to determine the necessary investment values and the demand for their potential products, according to the official.

Albania halted manufacturing of arms and ammunition at the plants following the collapse of its communist regime and the country’s transformation into a market economy. The production facilities were built in the 1960s, and are located in Poliçan, Elbasan and Gramsh. The latter two factories have been transformed into weapon demilitarization facilities, while the plant in Poliçan was completely shut down.

Albania joined NATO together with Croatia in April 2009.

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