Jared Kushner's Albanian resort project threatens flamingo habitat, govt eased rules

Construction of a luxury holiday complex in an Albanian nature reserve threatens flamingos and other wildlife—and may endanger Prime Minister Edi Rama's political future.

June 24, 2026 | 9:32 AM | From Zvërnec, Vlorë, and Tirana

By Ferry Batzoglou

The holes have been dug. The formwork boards are installed, the concrete poured, the frames removed. Point foundations for fence posts are in place. Gravel and concrete paths have been laid; light poles rise into the sky. Concrete mixers deliver fresh loads day and night.

Denisa Kasa pulls out her smartphone and photographs a patch of land cleared and leveled by excavators—where pine trees stood only recently.

"Everything happened very quickly. They want to create facts," says Kasa.

By "they," the 27-year-old project manager at PPNEA, an environmental organization based in Tirana, means Jared Kushner—husband of Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump—as well as Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and local oligarchs.

Kasa is fighting against a massive tourism and real estate project in the Vjosë-Narta nature reserve and on the offshore island of Sazan, along Albania's Adriatic coast.

The protected area north of the coastal city of Vlorë encompasses the mouth delta of the Vjosë River—one of the last untamed river systems in Europe—along with lagoons, dunes, pine forests, and beaches. It is widely considered one of the most ecologically valuable coastal landscapes in the Mediterranean.

A Haven for Endangered Species

The reserve is home to more than 200 species, many of them rare. It serves as a critical stopover for migratory birds traveling between Europe and Africa.

• Approximately 11,000 flamingos inhabit the area.
• The reserve hosts 1.5 percent of the global pelican population.
• Last spring, flamingos successfully bred there for the first time in this largely untouched natural paradise.

Ecological Worst-Case Scenario

According to environmentalists, the Vjosë-Narta nature reserve now faces an ecological super-GAU (worst-case scenario).

Although the Albanian government first placed the region under protection in 2004 and later codified that status in law, it relaxed building regulations in 2024 through a legal amendment—apparently to attract large-scale private investors.

Soon after, a U.S. investment firm appeared. In January 2025, the state news agency ATA reported that a company linked to Jared Kushner received strategic investor status for the construction of a luxury resort on Sazan Island.

Then off to Mar-a-Lago? Flamingos off the coast of Albania. Photo: Hameraldi Agolli / ap / dpa

According to ATA, the committee for strategic investments—chaired by Prime Minister Edi Rama—approved the offer from Atlantic Incubation Partners, which is linked to Kushner's investment fund Affinity Partners. The committee granted an accelerated special procedure.

The decision provides for investments of approximately €1.4 billion for the "Tourist Resort – Sazan Island" project. Construction is expected to cover about 45 hectares, or 8 percent of the island's total area.

Ivanka Trump: "Absolutely Thrilled"

Ivanka Trump has described the island of Sazan as "incredibly beautiful." She and her husband stopped on a friend's yacht off Sazan to swim in the crystal-clear sea.

"That's how we discovered the island. We swam there, walked barefoot—and were absolutely thrilled," she said in a podcast.

What is certain: Sazan Island is the property of the Albanian state—not a "private island," as Ivanka Trump falsely claimed. During the Cold War, under the iron rule of communist dictator Enver Hoxha, Sazan served as a military base. It remains under the administration of Albania's Ministry of Defense.

Mainland Plans: Even Larger

Sazan is only part of the plans. On the mainland, inside the Vjosë-Narta nature reserve, an even larger tourism and real estate project is to be developed. Along approximately 6 kilometers of coastline, hotels and other facilities are planned, threatening to transform one of Europe's last wild coastal ecosystems into a luxury destination.

This story is developing.