Overview
- Preparatory bulldozers, fencing and private security at Sazan Island and the Vjosa‑Narta coast in late May and early June triggered local clashes and the mobilisation of mass protests in Tirana.
- Thousands of demonstrators have marched for consecutive days, with confrontations that included police water cannon, injured protesters, and the suspension or revocation of some private security licences.
- Albania’s special anti‑corruption prosecutor, SPAK, opened an investigation into the origin of funds and the sale of land titles connected to the project, creating a legal hurdle for permits and transfers.
- Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the investment as transformative but stressed no final project has been approved, while the government in late 2024 granted a ‘strategic investor’ status that accelerates approvals for the developer tied to Jared Kushner’s network.
- Environmental groups warn the plan threatens key habitats for flamingos, Dalmatian pelicans, Mediterranean monk seals and sea‑turtle nesting sites, and opaque corporate links plus long‑running property disputes raise the prospect that legal and EU environmental rules could delay or block the development.