Investment Highway takes effect: Lithuania opens Europe’s fastest development track

Lithuania is transforming the timelines for strategic investment development in Europe. The country’s Investment Highway initiative, entering into force on November 1, 2025, enables large-scale projects to progress from initial decision to active construction in as little as three months, thus positioning Lithuania as one of Europe’s most agile investment destinations. 

Accelerating pre-construction timelines 

The Investment Highway removes traditional bureaucratic bottlenecks in territorial planning and construction permitting processes. Qualifying investors can begin building immediately after publishing a construction notice, while permitting proceeds in the background. The framework also enables phased construction, allowing work to commence on completed sections of the technical project while other components remain in design. These changes deliver substantial time savings compared to previous timelines, where the journey from site selection to construction could stretch up to three years.  

In practice, this means pre-construction timelines shrink by up to 50% for all large-scale projects – from 36 months down to around 19 months. Projects establishing operations in Lithuania’s seven Free Economic Zones, where territorial planning is already complete, can break ground even faster, reducing timelines from 24 months to just 9 months. Defence sector projects benefit from the most dramatic acceleration: timelines compress from 36 months to just 3 months in non-urbanised areas and from 36 months to 10 months in urbanised locations. 

Beyond accelerated timelines, the Investment Highway offers a comprehensive suite of benefits.  Qualifying projects can secure 0% corporate tax for up to 20 years and be supported by a dedicated case manager – in this instance, Invest Lithuania, the national investment promotion agency – throughout implementation. The framework provides access to state land through non-auction leasing arrangements and reserved vacant state plots, designated for strategic investment across Lithuania. 

 The Investment Highway also addresses critical operational needs through fast-track migration procedures that streamline visa processing and work permits for international specialists. Additionally, the framework facilitates tailored education programmes with local universities, developing custom training curricula aligned with investors’ specific requirements. 

Who qualifies for the Investment Highway 

The Investment Highway welcomes projects across multiple strategic sectors, including cleantech, data centers, and defence industries. Standard qualification requires a capital investment of €20 million and the creation of at least 150 jobs – or 20 for manufacturing projects – sustained for five years. In Vilnius, thresholds adjust to €30 million investment with 200 full-time positions, or 20 for manufacturing operations. 

Defence sector projects receive special consideration under the framework. Even smaller defence initiatives qualify for Investment Highway benefits with an investment threshold of just under €1.5 million, provided they employ at least 20 specialists for three years and address urgent national security needs as determined by the Ministry of National Defence.