The announcement was made by Arvydas Paukštys, main shareholder of Teltonika group and CEO of AGP Investments part of Teltonika group, on Linkedin on Friday.
"We are halting investment in 10 factories in the 55-hectare area of the Teltonika THTH high-tech park, which was planned to be implemented by 2028," he said.
Paukštys underlined that the move to stop the construction means 6,000 jobs with average salaries of EUR 10,000 will not be created. The project will not create the estimated several billion euros of gross domestic product (GDP) annually. Finally, a new semiconductor chip industry will not be set up in Lithuania, as the contract to purchase design services from Taiwan for the chip factories will have to be terminated, he said.
"The Lithuanian government has blocked EUR 3.5 billion in business investments," Paukštys stated.
According to the entrepreneur, the key reason for halting the investment is that Lithuania lacks 63 megawatts (MW) of electricity capacity, and "there is no more hope" it will be installed by 2027, despite the ministry’s promise to give a green corridor for investment to the company. In addition, the procedure of changing the use of land for construction to industrial use has taken too long.
"I did not fear the threat of war and refused to invest in other countries. Now I have realised how costly my mistake was. I have never supported any political party, which may be why the red traffic lights are on for our investments in Lithuania. I apologise to all the 3,000 employees of Teltonika for the failure of my dream to build the most beautiful high-tech park in Europe. Maybe it will be possible somewhere else," said Paukštys.