BERLIN (Reuters) -European defence giant Rheinmetall plans to produce gunpowder and 155-mm artillery shells in Bulgaria under two joint venture agreements with a shared investment of more than 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion), the German firm said on Tuesday.
Rheinmetall, one of the biggest beneficiaries of Europe’s push to upgrade its defence capabilities following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has been pursuing joint ventures across the continent in a bid to build up manufacturing capacity.
Boyko Borissov, leader of Bulgaria’s ruling centre-right GERB Party, said in a Facebook post on Monday that he had met with Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger at the company’s headquarters in Duesseldorf to discuss the two joint plants.
Borissov said he first began talking with Papperger in March about possible joint production, and that Bulgaria and Rheinmetall were now preparing plans for making gunpowder and charges, as well as 155-millimetre shells, in accordance with NATO standards.
The agreements are expected to be finalised within the next three weeks.
Rheinmetall is investing in several European countries to create new capacity and maintains alliances with other defence firms, including Italy’s Leonardo and Lockheed Martin in the United States, to help meet demand in its core markets of Europe, Germany and Ukraine.
“We are delighted about the trust that Bulgaria has placed in us and will be a reliable and efficient partner to the country,” said Rheinmetall in a statement.
“We will provide further details once the contracts have been signed,” added the company.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Jan Harvey)
