Albanian Protesters Oppose Coastal Resort Linked to Kushner Firm

Thousands of demonstrators have held nightly protests against a proposed luxury resort on Albania's southern Adriatic coast. Participants have used whistles and cardboard flamingo cut-outs to highlight concerns over migratory bird habitats in the Narta Lagoon area.

The project includes hotels, apartments, villas and a marina on both the lagoon shore and the nearby island of Sazan. An investment firm connected to Jared Kushner received special investor status from Albanian authorities for the venture.

Albanian officials state the development would help the country enter the high-end tourism market and support its European Union membership bid. Prime Minister Edi Rama said the project would bring 4 billion euros in investment and defended the administration's environmental record.

Rama attributed the protests to manipulation by overseas cyber activists and accused Iran of targeting his government. Iran has denied the allegations, which followed a 2022 dispute over Albania sheltering members of an Iranian opposition group.

Trump said in a podcast interview that she and Kushner discovered the site during a boat trip when they stopped to swim. Heavy machinery has operated at the site since late May, clearing land and installing fencing. Albania's anti-corruption agency has opened an investigation into the project but has not released details.

The government maintains the land is privately owned, though competing privatization claims have surfaced. A similar Kushner-linked project in Serbia was halted after prosecutors charged officials with abuse of office and document falsification. Kushner later withdrew from that venture.