Protests in Albania Against Luxury Resort by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump

Two Locations: Narta Lagoon and Sazan Island

Prime Minister Edi Rama defended the project again on Thursday. He stated there is "absolutely no chance that the investment will be stopped as long as I am here." Albania should not become a country that "fears an extraordinary project like this, where extraordinary partners have come together to invest four billion euros." Rama accused critics of relying on "misinformation and false reports" from social media. At the same time, he admitted that the final plans and the environmental impact assessment have not yet been completed.

The protest ignited last weekend when construction workers in Zvernec cordoned off large sections of the beach area with barbed wire fences, denying residents and tourists access to the beach. Thousands of people then flocked to the beach. Since Monday, there have been daily demonstrations in Tirana. On Saturday (presumably May 30, 2026), clashes occurred in Zvernec between several hundred protesters and private security personnel, resulting in injuries. A video released by the Associated Press shows an activist being dragged along a cliff by a security guard. This incident sparked further outrage.

Background: Fences and a Violent Incident

In an interview with US podcaster David Senra, Ivanka Trump described how she and others discovered the location by chance: "We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it." She raved about the island: "We swam to the island. We walked barefoot all the way to the top, and we were just captivated." In another interview, she described the project as an "extraordinary project... It's an incredible and beautiful private island, 1,400 hectares, in the middle of the Mediterranean." However, Sazan is not private property; it was only opened for civilian use in 2024.

The main developer of the project is Jared Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners, Donald Trump's son-in-law, which acts as the general contractor. The financing is largely provided by Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, a firm associated with Affinity Partners, founded after Kushner left the White House and primarily funded by money from Saudi Arabia. Companies from Qatar are also involved in the project. The Albanian government had already granted the project "strategic investor" status last year, which accelerated approval processes.

Vjosa-Narta Protected Area at Risk

The planned construction area is located within the Vjosa-Narta protected area, one of Albania's most important wetlands and biodiversity regions. The lagoon is a crucial resting stop for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast and is home to flamingos, the endangered Dalmatian pelican, herons, sea turtles, and seals. The Vjosa River Delta is considered Europe's last wild river. Environmental organizations from Albania and other European countries strongly condemn the construction work. An ecologist from the environmental organization PPNEA-BirdLife Albania warned that the project is akin to a new city with about 10,000 rooms and will completely destroy the natural region.

Since the end of April or end of May, excavators and heavy construction machinery have entered the Narta Lagoon area, creating access roads, removing sand, clearing land between pine trees, and installing fences. In a nature reserve, protester Klajdi Belo criticized in an interview with Euronews that the state "allowed construction work without consultation and without transparency." In fact, protection requirements for the nature park were reportedly suddenly relaxed in 2024.

Flamingos as a Symbol of Protest

Protesters carry cardboard flamingo cut-outs and inflatable flamingo figures at their rallies, which have become the unofficial symbol of the movement. Slogans seen on banners and posters include "Albania is not for sale," "Albania belongs to Albanians," "Ivanka, go home," and "Where will they live now?" – the latter accompanied by a depiction of a flamingo. Reports indicate that antisemitic imagery was also displayed in isolated instances. Flamingos are native to the Narta Lagoon as a protected migratory bird species, making their fate a symbol of concern for the entire ecosystem.

Albania's Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has now confirmed an investigation into the project. This concerns the changes to the protected status and ownership conditions that enabled the tourism development. Assets of companies linked to the project have been frozen as part of the investigation into possible irregularities in ownership matters and approval procedures. The Albanian anti-corruption authority stated it is investigating without providing details. In connection with the protests, the licenses of two private security firms were revoked, and a security guard was arrested.

Investigations and Corruption Allegations

The project's backstory raises additional questions. The Albanian government points out that the areas designated for the project are privately owned. However, competing claims call the privatization of the land into question. Furthermore, during the protests, a clash occurred between security forces and demonstrators, including a member of the Greek minority in the region. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded with an official statement, calling for a thorough investigation of the incident and the protection of minority rights and nature in Albania. The Greek minority, officially around 66,000 strong, is the largest recognized ethnic minority in Albania, primarily residing in the south around Saranda and Gjirokastra.

The Albanian project is not the first major undertaking by Jared Kushner in the Western Balkans to attract criticism. In Serbia, his company Affinity Partners planned a luxury complex on the site of the former Army General Staff headquarters in Belgrade, which was destroyed by NATO bombs in 1999. The ruins were declared a cultural monument in 2005, a status that was revoked last year, shortly before Affinity Partners signed a 99-year lease. The Serbian government under Aleksandar Vucic had planned to grant the site to Kushner's company free of charge. In December, the Serbian Public Prosecutor's Office filed charges against Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic and three others for abuse of office and document forgery; the approval of the heritage protection authority was allegedly falsified under the influence of the Ministry of Culture. Kushner subsequently withdrew from the Belgrade project.

Precedent: Kushner's Failed Serbia Project

Critics accuse Kushner and Ivanka Trump of using Donald Trump's presidency for their own business interests. Jared Kushner, who holds no elected political office, claims to be undertaking important diplomatic tasks for the US government, including leading roles in negotiations to end wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The head of the partner company Sazan Real Estate Development, Asher Abehsera, emphasized that the focus is on creating jobs and long-term benefits for the local population. Affinity Partners and Kushner himself did not initially comment on the protests.

Albania, a former communist country with 450 kilometers of coastline that remained underdeveloped for decades, seeks EU membership and has long relied on tourism as an economic pillar. Rama sees the resort as "the Champions League of tourism" and a strategic opportunity. Environmental groups and residents, however, fear for biodiversity and view the project as a sell-off of the country to wealthy foreign investors. The Trump Organization is currently expanding in numerous regions worldwide, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Oman, and India, building luxury resorts and sometimes skyscrapers there.

In Vietnam, the Trump Organization is also planning a luxury resort with a golf course on 990 hectares in Hung Yen province near Hanoi for $1.5 billion. The planned site includes a soldiers' cemetery where hundreds of Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war are buried. Approximately 4,000 households, mostly small farmers, are affected by resettlement. The protests in Albania thus join a growing wave of resistance against major international projects by the Trump family and their partners, which combine environmental concerns, issues of public participation, and accusations of corruption.