Key facts
- Thousands of Albanians are protesting a luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.
- The project involves hotels, apartments, villas, and a marina in the Narta Lagoon area and on Sazan island.
- Environmental groups warn the project threatens protected habitats and species, including seals, turtles, and endangered birds.
- Albania's anti-corruption prosecution body (SPAK) has launched a probe into the project and related legislative changes.
- Prime Minister Edi Rama strongly supports the resort as an economic opportunity, stating the investment will not stop.
- Kushner's firm previously withdrew from a similar project in Serbia after protests and corruption charges.
A planned luxury hospitality development on the Albanian coast, backed by Jared Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners, is facing significant public backlash and mass protests. The approximately $1.6 billion development aims to build hotels, apartments, villas, and a marina in the Narta Lagoon area and on Sazan island. Environmental groups have raised alarms, warning that the project threatens protected habitats and species, including Mediterranean monk seals, Loggerhead sea turtles, Dalmatian pelicans, and flamingos, which use the preserve as a migratory stop. Albania's anti-corruption prosecution body, SPAK, has initiated a probe into the project, including controversial legislative changes that affected the area's protected status and land ownership. Prime Minister Edi Rama, however, has vocally supported the resort, viewing it as a crucial opportunity to boost Albania's tourism sector. Protests have intensified, with thousands taking to the streets in Tirana, some adopting the moniker 'flamingo revolution' due to the prominent use of flamingo imagery. Critics cite a lack of transparency and public consultation. This venture follows a previous instance where Kushner's firm withdrew from a luxury hotel project in Serbia after it also sparked protests and led to corruption charges against four government officials.