Tilray to build $30 million EU cannabis production operation in Portugal Sep 7, 2017 1:15 AM

CALGARY — Canadian cannabis producer Tilray says it will invest 20 million euros (about C$29.5 million) in a medical cannabis operation in Portugal after winning federal licences there to import cannabis seeds and clones and cultivate them.

It says it plans to establish a campus at Cantanhede, about 220 kilometres north of Lisbon, that will grow, process and package medical cannabis products for distribution across the European Union.

CEO Brendan Kennedy says the licences are the culmination of a two-year search for a location from which to serve demand for cannabis in Europe, adding Tilray estimates the market could grow to 10 million patients and generate as much as 40 billion euros per year in revenue.

“We’re seeing massive demand from Germany so we needed to build a large facility to meet that demand and we needed to get it up and running very quickly,” he said.