What to know about the growing opposition to Trump family-linked resort
in Albania
[June 09, 2026] By
ZANA CIMILI
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A massive coastal development project linked to
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, is facing
growing resistance from protesters in Albania.
Thousands protested peacefully in the Albanian capital Saturday evening,
in one of the largest protests so far. Earlier in the day, several
hundred people demonstrated in the town of Zvernec, while Albanian
Australian swimmer Eva Buzo swam 15 kilometers (9 miles) around the
disputed island to protest plans to develop the protected area.
The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be
transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter
the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.
But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of
seafront on Albania’s southern coast, has drawn opposition from
environmental campaigners and critics of longtime Socialist Prime
Minister Edi Rama.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump found the site on a barefoot hike
The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the
Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on
the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.
The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is
linked to Kushner and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
In an interview this week with U.S. podcaster David Senra, 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,” she said. “We swam to the island. We went on a
hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.”
An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor
status by Albanian authorities.
Harsh rule, pristine beaches
Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely
underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.
Protest groups fear the sections of that pristine coastline could be
snapped up by powerful investors. And public anger grew after video
showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while
demonstrating at the site.
The development is planned within a nature reserve and one of Albania’s
most valuable biodiversity areas, a key stopover for migratory birds
along the Adriatic coast.
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Protesters take part in a rally in Tirana, Saturday, June 6, 2026,
against the construction of a massive coastal development project
linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump at Narta lagoon area,
western Albania. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
 Protesters have carried cardboard
cut-outs of pink flamingos, one of the protected migratory bird
species, at rallies in Tirana.
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.
Environmental groups from Albania and elsewhere in
Europe condemned the work, with one prominent local group charging
that long-protected habitats are being "irreversibly destroyed.”
A multibillion dollar bonanza?
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 for the project is privately
owned. But competing claims have emerged questioning the
privatization — a common type of legal dispute.
Rama has committed to the venture, saying it would align with
Albania’s ambition to become a major global tourism destination.
“Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project
like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to
invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion),” Rama said.
He added: “There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as
I am here.”
However, the demise of a similar project in Serbia offers a
cautionary tale. In November, Serbia's Parliament passed a special
law to enable the building of a luxury complex in the capital,
Belgrade, to be financed by an investment company linked to Kushner.
The following month, Serbia's prosecutor for organized crime charged
four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office
and falsifying of documents to help pave the way for the
development.
Kushner later withdrew from the planned multimillion investment that
would have replaced a sprawling bombed-out military complex, a
designated heritage zone whose legal protection was lifted by the
former officials now on trial.
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