Protesters in Tirana are opposing a coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump that would develop an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania's southern coast.
The venture has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base; the project is linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, and an investment firm tied to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said the project would be transformational and that "exceptional partners have come together to invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion)," adding, "There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here."
Environmental groups warned the development is planned within one of Albania's most valuable biodiversity areas and a key stopover for migratory birds; protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, and one prominent local group charged that long-protected habitats are being "irreversibly destroyed."
Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing, and video circulated showing an activist being dragged by a private security guard.
Albania's state anti-corruption agency has confirmed it opened an investigation related to the project but has not disclosed details; the government says the land earmarked is privately owned, but competing claims have emerged questioning the privatization.
Ivanka Trump said they discovered the site by accident: "We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated."
The report cited a similar episode in Serbia, where Parliament passed a special law in November to enable a luxury complex, the prosecutor for organized crime later charged four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office and falsifying documents, and Kushner withdrew from a planned multi-million investment that would have replaced a bombed-out military complex.