Thousands are protesting in Albania against a $1.4 billion luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner planned for a protected coastal wetland. Environmentalists warn the project, which includes a resort on the former military island of Sazan, threatens habitats for flamingos and sea turtles. Prime Minister Edi Rama has vowed the project will proceed, while an anti-corruption agency has opened an investigation.
Albania coastal resort protests
- ▪Protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Edi Rama's office with signs reading "Nation is not for sale" and inflatable flamingos
- ▪Thousands of Albanians protested in Tirana on June 2, 2026, against a planned luxury resort on the Adriatic coast
- ▪Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the project, vowing that there is "absolutely no chance that the investment will stop."
- ▪Protests began after developers erected large barbed-wire fences at the proposed site in Zvernec, near Vlora
- ▪On May 30, 2026, several hundred protesters clashed with private security guards at the site, resulting in some injuries
Kushner-Trump development project details
- ▪The project includes a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area and a resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan
- ▪The proposed luxury resort is a €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) project led by Jared Kushner's investment firm, Affinity Partners
- ▪An investment firm linked to Jared Kushner has been granted "special investor status" by Albanian authorities for the project
- ▪Sazan island, part of the proposed development, is a former communist-era military base
Protected wildlife habitat threats
- ▪Since late May 2026, heavy machinery has been clearing land and digging into sand within the protected area
- ▪Environmental groups charge that the development is "irreversibly destroying" long-protected habitats
- ▪The resort is planned near the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape, a wetland that is home to flamingos, seals, and sea turtles
- ▪The Narta Lagoon area is a wildlife reserve and a key stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast
Land ownership disputes
- ▪The Albanian government states the land designated for the project is privately owned
- ▪Competing legal claims have emerged that question the privatization of the land for the resort
Anti-corruption investigation
- ▪Albania’s state anti-corruption agency has opened an investigation related to the coastal development project
- ▪The anti-corruption agency has not disclosed any details about its investigation
Serbia project collapse precedent
- ▪Serbia's prosecutor for organized crime charged four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office related to the Kushner-linked project in Belgrade
- ▪Jared Kushner previously withdrew from a similar development project in Serbia in 2025 following street protests
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