Protests continued in Albania on Wednesday against a massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, with demonstrators taking to the streets of Tirana for a third day to voice their opposition to the project.
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 long-time Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
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.
An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.
Harsh rule, pristine beaches
Albania has 450 kilometres of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of 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.
Protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, one of the protected migratory bird species, at rallies in the capital 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.”
Multi-billion 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 privatisation, 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,” 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 organised 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 multi-million dollar 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.
Additional sources • AP