TIRANA, Albania — Protests are escalating in Albania against a $4.6 billion luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, with environmental groups warning that protected migratory bird habitats are being “irreversibly destroyed.”
The massive development on the Adriatic coast has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, a wildlife reserve that serves as a key stopover for migratory birds, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a former communist-era military base. The government says the project would be transformational for the former communist nation.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has committed to the venture, saying it would align with Albania’s ambition to become a major global tourism destination and push for European Union membership.
“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, according to public broadcaster NPR. “There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here.”
The project includes plans for hotels, apartments, villas, and a marina. An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.
Ivanka Trump described the discovery of the site in an interview this week with U.S. podcaster David Senra. “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.”
Environmental groups from Albania and elsewhere in Europe condemned the work. Heavy excavators entered the area in late May, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees, and installing fencing. One prominent local group charged that long-protected habitats are being “irreversibly destroyed.”
Protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, one of the protected migratory bird species, at rallies in the capital Tirana. Public anger grew after video showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while demonstrating at the site. 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 in the country.
Albania’s state anti-corruption agency has confirmed it opene