Overview
- Thousands of people have staged repeated street demonstrations in Tirana and local protests at Zvernec after videos showed heavy machinery and fencing on protected coastal land, and clashes with private security and police have left demonstrators and guards injured and some detained.
- The development plan, linked in reporting to Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and partners tied to Affinity Partners and Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, would convert the uninhabited island of Sazan and hundreds of hectares of the Vjosa-Narta wetlands into luxury hotels, villas and marinas.
- Albania’s Special Anti‑Corruption Prosecutor (SPAK) has opened a formal probe into the legal steps that removed protection status and the land transfers used to enable the project, and local authorities reportedly removed a police chief after criticism of how disturbances were handled.
- Environmental groups say excavators and dumped fill have already damaged dunes, blocked lagoon connections and threatened species such as flamingos and monk seals, warning that some harm could take decades or centuries to reverse.
- The government insists the plan will bring major investment and jobs, accuses foreign actors of spreading disinformation, and faces growing scrutiny because ownership, financing and the fast‑track investor status for the project remain opaque.