Published On 3/6/2026
Thousands of Albanians demonstrated on Tuesday against a coastal tourism complex project allegedly linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, and his wife Ivanka Trump.
The demonstrators called on the government to halt the project over concerns about environmental damage and corruption, chanting slogans such as “Stop the project” and raising banners reading “Albania is not for sale” and “Ivanka, go back to your country.”
Project details and environmental concerns
The project includes building luxury complexes and hotels in two main locations, one of which is Sazan Island, an uninhabited island that was previously a secret communist military base. According to the plan presented by Kushner two years ago, he intended to transform it into a luxury tourist destination at a cost estimated at about 1.4 billion euros (about 1.5 billion dollars).
The second location is the southern Zvernic region, specifically in the coastal Vyosa-Narta region, which is considered a nature reserve, where about 40 environmental organizations called last January for the suspension of these plans due to the threat they pose to biodiversity.
Investigations and security tensions
In turn, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) announced yesterday, Tuesday, the opening of an investigation into the funds used to buy land titles and sell them to investors. It has not yet been confirmed whether the lands in question were purchased by companies linked to Kushner.
The demonstration in the capital, Tirana, followed a similar gathering of dozens of people and environmental activists on Saturday in Zvernic, protesting against the installation of barbed wire blocking access to the beach.
The gathering witnessed private security guards attacking demonstrators and injuring them, prompting the authorities to suspend a number of police officers and withdraw the licenses of two private security companies.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called on the demonstrators yesterday, Tuesday, to choose a delegation of about 20 people to discuss possible solutions, but the demonstrators rejected this proposal and announced the organization of another gathering on Wednesday.
