Overview
- Hundreds to thousands of people moved from nightly rallies in Tirana to the Vjosa–Narta nature reserve, and observers reported heavy machinery and excavators working on site during weekend protests.
- The development is publicly tied to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump through Kushner-linked investment interests and has been reported as a roughly €4 billion plan that could include about 10,000 hotel rooms and villas.
- Scientists and conservation groups including WWF warn the plan would destroy key habitats for flamingos, migratory birds, Mediterranean monk seals and sea turtles in one of the Adriatic's most important biodiversity hotspots.
- Albania's anti-corruption prosecutors, SPAK, have opened an inquiry into 2024 decisions that changed the legal status of coastal land which critics say enabled the project while the government says the plan is not yet approved and defends the investment.
- The dispute has broadened into a political crisis over transparency and alleged cronyism that could affect everyday lives through lost coastal access, altered local jobs and reputational risks for Albania's EU bid, with clashes and police use of a water cannon already reported.