(Bloomberg) -- Denmark wants to buy back and reopen its only munition factory, which traces it roots back to 1676, to counter a shortage of supplies due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, broadcaster DR reported, citing Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. 

The defense ministry will meet the owners on Wednesday to buy back the plot of land and the 50 buildings in northern Denmark that housed the facilities, DR said. The Elling factory was Denmark’s only munitions producer when it closed in 2020 after years of losses under the ownership of Spanish defense company Expal Systems SA.

Denmark is among the most active donors of military equipment to Ukraine, with parliament passing earlier this year a 10-year $20 billion defense budget to fund donations as well as boosting its own military. The Danish defense had already complained before the war about a lack of munitions as soldiers often had to train without live rounds.

After buying the Elling facilities, the government plans to invite private companies to make munitions at the site and expects to have domestic production back up again “in a couple of years,” Poulsen said, according to DR.

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