Tirana (Albania) (AFP) – Protesters are furious over a planned luxury tourism complex in Albania that is linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The project was unveiled more than two years ago, but many of the details remain unclear. Here is what we know so far.
**- Origins -** Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump announced plans to construct luxury hotels and villas in Albania back in 2024. The project was planned for two areas along the Adriatic coast — the protected delta area of Vjosa-Narta and the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, once a secret communist military base. In late 2024, the government granted “strategic investor” status to a company called Atlantic Incubation Partners, believed to be linked to Kushner’s Affinity Partners fund. The status gives access to fast-track administrative procedures and support from ministries, according to a document seen by AFP. Ivanka Trump has since visited the Vlora region accompanied by architects and investors and has met Prime Minister Edi Rama. “As of today, there is no definitive agreement” regarding Sazan, Rama’s office told AFP on Thursday. “Since Sazan is public property, the Albanian state must remain a stakeholder and direct beneficiary of any potential development on the island.”
**- Who is investing? -** The investment on Sazan island is estimated at $1.6 billion, while Rama recently referred to a four-billion-euro project in Zvernec. Affinity Partners referred AFP’s questions to a PR agency, which provided a statement attributed to Asher Abehsera, chairman of Sazan Real Estate Development, a company described as managing the project with a “variety of investors.” “We’re excited about the opportunity to create a world-class destination and make one of the largest private investments in the region’s history,” the statement said. However, AFP has not been able to find any legal trace of a company with that name. Questioned by AFP on the project in Zvernec, the government said on Thursday that it is a “private property.” It said the project’s “investors are the two co-owners of Power International Holding W.L.L from Qatar, a holding company that owns various businesses and whose tourism portfolio is among the most prestigious in the world.”
**- Why is it disputed? -** Environmental groups argue the project will trample on protected land, while other critics accuse the authorities of corruption. Dozens of NGOs have raised the alarm about the project’s potential impact on the Vjosa-Narta protected zone. More than 40 groups sent a letter to the government in January demanding the project be suspended immediately. Critics have also raised questions over the origin of the funds used to purchase coastal land and the legality of the procedures. Like many plots of land in Albania, the area is subject to property disputes dating back to the collapse of communism in the 1990s. Thousands of families are still hoping to reclaim ancestral land that was taken by the communists after World War II, with some claiming ownership over land allocated to the project.
**- Probes and protests -** Opposition has intensified in recent days after videos emerged showing bulldozers on the beach. Protesters clashed with private security guards on Saturday in the region after gathering to register their anger at newly installed barbed wire blocking access to the beach. Thousands of demonstrators have since gathered in the capital Tirana over three consecutive evenings calling for the project to be cancelled and former owners to get their land back. More protests have been planned for the coming days. Meanwhile, the special anti-corruption prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation. Media reports say the office will probe changes to the protected status of the Vjosa-Narta area. They are also set to investigate how officials were able to bypass the system of public tenders for contracts and the origin of the funds used to purchase land titles. The prosecutors’ office confirmed to AFP that an investigation had been opened but declined to give further details.
© 2024 AFP
