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Albania Resort Project on Sazan Island Draws Protests Over Land and Environment
Construction began last month on a $1.6 billion resort linked to Jared Kushner on Albania's Sazan island and the Vjosa-Narta protected area. The government granted strategic investor status to a firm connected to Kushner's fund in 2024 and says the project will support tourism and EU goals. Thousands have protested in Tirana and at the site, citing environmental harm and land disputes.
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Work started last month on a luxury resort project on Albania's Sazan island and the adjacent Vjosa-Narta protected delta. Excavators cleared land, opened access routes, and installed fencing around beaches in the area. The government awarded strategic investor status in 2024 to Atlantic Incubation Partners, a firm linked to Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners fund.
The investment on Sazan is valued at $1.6 billion, while Prime Minister Edi Rama has referred to a four billion euro project covering the wider Vlora region.
The plan includes hotels, apartments, and villas inside the protected wildlife reserve, plus conversion of a former military base on Sazan. Ivanka Trump described visiting the island by boat in an interview this week and said the visit led to the development.
Rama stated the project would help Albania become a global tourism destination and distance itself from its communist past while pursuing European Union membership. He said there is no chance for the investment to stop while he remains in office.
Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Tirana for three consecutive evenings after videos showed machinery on the beaches. " More than 40 environmental groups sent a letter in January demanding the project be suspended. The petition on the PPNEA website has nearly 60,000 signatures.
Eva Kushova, director of the Albanian non-profit Destination Management Organisation, said the area is public property under national law and should not be developed without transparency or local consultation.
