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Thousands of people took to the streets of Albania’s capital Tirana on Tuesday in the second day of protests against a luxury resort project linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
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The project is planned to be built on several hectares of the protected Vjosa-Narta coastal landscape in Zvërnec and on the uninhabited Adriatic island of Sazan.
Protesters chanted, “Albania belongs to Albanians” while holding placards that read, “Hands off Vjosa-Narta.”
“The situation in Narta (Lagoon) is that, in practice, we have a protected area, but above all, our state has allowed construction work to continue without consultation and without transparency,” said Klajdi Belo, an activist who attended the demonstration.
Environmental NGOs have long raised concerns that the project could threaten the area’s biodiversity and disrupt bird migration routes.
Public alarm grew in early May when excavators began clearing pine forests and dunes to open new access roads and construction sites.
Arilda Lleshi, who took part in the protest, said public outrage escalated after a video circulated on social media showing what she said was an activist being forcibly removed from the site.
“There is great public outrage over what is happening in Albania, but the spark was what happened in Zvërnec, which everyone saw on social media: an activist being dragged along the ground by several people wearing black shirts from a security company because he was protesting against a fence that had been installed there illegally,” she said.
The project has an estimated cost of $4 billion (€3 billion) and is expected to be built on around 2.5 square kilometres within a protected coastal ecosystem.
The development has received support from the Albanian government prompting protesters to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
They have accused his government of facilitating the development through legislative changes adopted in 2024 concerning protected areas.
However, Rama has defended the construction, saying it is proceeding in accordance with legal and environmental requirements.
The Albanian government has promoted luxury tourism investments as part of a broader strategy to attract foreign capital and expand the country’s high-end tourism sector.
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