Jared Kushner’s proposed luxury development on an environmentally protected patch of coastline in Albania has provoked the country’s largest civic protests in more than three decades, drawing thousands of demonstrators to Tirana and the village of Zvërnec. A special prosecutor has opened an investigation into land sales tied to the project, and the European Commission this week told Albanian authorities to “refrain from action” that could undermine its path to European Union membership.
The project — a swath of hotels, villas and other amenities planned for a narrow spit of beach in Zvërnec and an ultraluxury resort on the former military island of Sazan — is part of a $5 billion foreign-investment package led by Kushner and his partners, one of the largest ever in Albania. The development group had been working quietly on the peninsula for more than two years before the issue burst into public view last week, when fencing and spools of razor wire were installed on the site.
Villagers and protesters who arrived soon after clashed with private security guards. A video circulated widely of a man being roughed up and dragged through the dirt by guards.
Asher Abehsera, one of Kushner’s partners leading the development, described the video as “horrific” and said it was a bad decision to put up the fence, one he attributed to an unnamed third-party contractor. “There will be engagement and there will be dialogue,” Abehsera said in an interview. “We’re committed to creating a place that I think not only will be beautiful, but will be enjoyable.”
The protests, which demonstrators have dubbed the “flamingo revolution” after the birds that feed in a lagoon on the Zvërnec peninsula, have blurred traditional political lines. Fred Abrahams, who wrote “Modern Albania,” a book on the country’s transition from communism, said the protests were “the largest, most significant civic and civil protest since the fall of communism.”
“The protests are very common—but this one is different,” Abrahams said, “not rooted in political partisanship.”
Kristina Xhiveli, a 30-year-old environmental engineer who marched in Tirana, said people are exhausted by poor infrastructure, healthcare and education. “And then you hear the prime minister talking about €4 billion resorts. Isn’t that madness?” she said.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the project as an economic boon for one of Europe’s poorest countries. In near-daily appearances, he has vowed to press ahead. Rama has been positioning Albania as a destination for luxury tourism, which tends to create far more jobs than midrange hospitality.
The development has echoes of Kushner’s experience in Serbia, where he had hoped to build a Trump-branded hotel on a Belgrade site once bombed by NATO. A special prosecutor’s investigation into fast-tracked government approvals followed, protests mounted, and Kushner pulled out.
The Albanian development is a thicket of property disputes, common in a country that nationalized land under communism and then underwent a messy process of returning it. The development group bought its land from numerous wealthy companies and families who claimed ownership. Albania’s anticorruption prosecutor is now investigating the land transfers.
Abehsera said the land was “outright purchased” months ago. A spokesman for the developers said they have not been contacted by the prosecutor’s office.
Petraq Balliu, 61, has been in court for more than two decades to win back land he said his family bought in 1933 and then used to graze sheep, mules and horses. While a 2003 court decision recognized his ownership, subsequent cases left the land in the control of larger landowners. “I don’t want to build a resort,” Balliu said. “I just want my land back.”
The land was off-limits to development for years because of its environmentally protected status. But in 2024, Albania passed a law allowing tourism projects of “five stars” or higher to be built in such areas, dovetailing with the prime minister’s strategy.
The European Commission said Tuesday it had “expressed concerns” about both the project and the environmental impacts of the law. The commission warned the Albanian government to “refrain from action” that could undermine its EU membership effort.
The Zvërnec project is still in the planning phase. The fencing and razor wire have been removed. Developers are working on an environmental-impact statement. Albanian officials have yet to finalize an agreement for the Sazan island development.
Ramez Al-Khayyat, whose family company has developed island resorts in the Maldives and is another Kushner partner in Albania, said “the Albanians will decide” whether the project proceeds once they see more details and its benefits. “If they see there’s no value in the project, we won’t do it,” Al-Khayyat said. “I am not worried.”