A proposed $4.6 billion resort on Albania’s former military island of Sazan, linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, has triggered protests, environmental concerns and an anti-corruption probe.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Thousands of people in Albania protested this week against a planned luxury resort on Sazan Island, a former communist-era military base tied to a development company linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
The demonstrations, which led to clashes with police, centered on public opposition to the proposed transformation of the island into a major tourist destination. The project has drawn scrutiny because of the island’s military history, protected environmental status and the involvement of powerful foreign investors.
Sazan Island, a 1,400-acre site off Albania’s coast, was once used as a military base and contains 3,500 nuclear bunkers, unexploded weapons, bomb shelters and miles of tunnels, according to The Independent. The planned development has been valued at $1.4 billion in one report, while Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has described the broader investment as 4 billion euros, or about $4.6 billion.
The proposal has been promoted as a major tourism project, but protesters and environmental groups have raised concerns over the development of one of Albania’s most sensitive coastal areas. The project is planned inside a nature reserve and in one of the country’s key biodiversity zones, a major stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast, according to AP.
Public anger increased after video circulated showing an activist being dragged by a private security guard during a demonstration at the site. Protest footage and commentary about the project were also shared in multiple X posts, including additional posts highlighting opposition to the development.
Ivanka Trump has described how she and Kushner first encountered the island while boating with a friend. She said they “stopped for a swim” and “swam to the island.”
“We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated,” she said.
Her remarks about the island were circulated in another X post, drawing criticism from journalist Glenn Greenwald, who commented on the podcast appearance.
“The most darkly funny aspect of this video is that Ivanka Trump speaks as if she went on some profound, prolonged spiritual and philosophical journey to ascertain the meaning of life, and concluded that the most elevated human state is to live on a gigantic private island in the Mediterranean, in a sprawling mansion paid for with the billions of dollars given to her husband by the Saudis and Emiratis to ensure favorable treatment by him and by her dad in their exercise of the powers of the American Presidency. Real uplifting stuff,” Greenwald wrote in a post shared in the report.
The controversy has also focused on how Kushner and Ivanka Trump came into contact with the site. Some critics have referred to the planned resort as “Epstein Island 2.0.” The report said the friend Kushner and Ivanka were vacationing with when they encountered the island was Nat Rothschild, heir to the Rothschild family.
Kushner said in a recent podcast that he privately met with Rama aboard Rothschild’s boat in 2021, a meeting that led him to later discover the island for the development project. That account was also highlighted in an X post.
Rama has defended the project and said Albania should welcome the investment.
“Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion),” Rama said. “There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here.”
Opposition to the project has extended beyond street protests. Albania’s anti-corruption agency launched an investigation into the proposal Monday. On Tuesday, authorities froze the bank accounts of the landholding company connected to the development.
The dispute has intensified broader questions over the future of Albania’s coastline. The country has about 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, of coast that remained largely undeveloped during decades of communist rule, according to AP. Protest groups fear parts of that coastline could be acquired by politically connected or wealthy investors as Albania seeks to expand its tourism industry.
The Sazan Island project now faces growing public resistance, an anti-corruption inquiry and scrutiny over whether a former military site inside an environmentally sensitive area should be converted into a private luxury resort.
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