Thousands of Albanians have protested against a luxury development planned by Jared Kushner's investment firm on an environmentally sensitive stretch of the Adriatic coast, according to the supplied Independent report. The protests have now run for a third straight day in Tirana, and the source says police used water cannons to push back crowds waving flares and cardboard flamingoes.
The project sits at the center of a broader argument about what kind of development Albania should accept. The report says the resort is valued at 1.4 billion euros and is being led by Affinity Partners on Sazan Island and the Zvernec coastline near the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape. That area is described as a wetland home to flamingos, seals and sea turtle nesting sites, which is why environmental groups say the plan could damage a fragile ecosystem.
Protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Edi Rama's office carrying signs reading "Nation is not for sale" and "I don't want Albania like Dubai." The source quotes ecologist Joni Vorpsi of PPNEA-BirdLife Albania saying construction should stop and heavy machinery should leave the protected area. He argues the project would amount to a new city with around 10,000 rooms and would destroy the wild region. Those claims show how deeply local opposition has tied the development to fears of scale rather than just style.
The resistance did not begin with the most recent marches. According to the report, locals and nonprofit groups started protesting after large barbed-wire fences were erected by developers last month. Several hundred people gathered and clashed with private guards, leaving some injured. That detail matters because it suggests the conflict is now physical as well as political, with the project footprint itself becoming part of the dispute.
The Albanian government's own institutions have added to the pressure. The state anti-corruption agency has confirmed that it opened an investigation related to the project, although it has not disclosed the details. That does not prove wrongdoing, but it does show that the development is moving through more than one layer of scrutiny at the same time - environmental, political and legal.
Rama has tried to defend the plan while also insisting it is not yet a finished project. He told CNN International that the environmental assessment is still under way and said the challenge is not to pour concrete over flamingos but to prove that development and nature can coexist. On Tuesday, he added that there is no chance the investment will stop while he is in office. The developers, for their part, say they focus on stewardship, job creation and long-term value for local communities.
The report also says the land is privately owned and that the project is split between a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area and a small resort on uninhabited Sazan Island, a former military base. The plan includes hotels, apartments, villas and a marina. That combination helps explain why the protests are so broad: opponents see environmental loss, while supporters see investment and jobs. The supplied evidence shows neither side is backing down.
